The Bergen Record

Cost of freedom?

A32-pound piece of cheese. Eight pounds of tea. Two gold rings. Even the brass locks from the doors. ● They were among dozens of items the Rev. Theodore “Dirck” Romeyn said British and Hessian troops took from his Bergen County home during the...

BUILT ON RISK?

Dolly Parton maze opening at NJ farm

MANALAPAN – The Stockel family had no way of knowing what was to come when they began planning their farm’s annual fall corn maze earlier this year. ● Carved into eight acres of corn at Happy Day Farm on Iron Ore Road is the likeness of Dolly Parton,...

Icons & allies “They’re modeling behavior. Not by saying ‘this is how you should do it.’ Simply by living their values and giving people an example to imitate.”

Tim Curry and Dolly Parton, who both died on Tuesday, Aug. 25, both at age 80, are linked by more than a sad coincidence of timing. Both had strong connections to the LGBTQ+ community. Both were, simultaneously, idols and allies. For many gay people,...

NJ Transit $4M loss on Cup called a win

NJ Transit ended up with a $4 million loss after shuttling more than 370,000 people to eight World Cup matches this summer – faring better than it does for most special events at MetLife. “NJ Transit realized 93% cost recovery, resulting in a 7-cent...

‘ETHICAL STANDARDS’

The settler with the flock of sheep and the club in his hand was in his mid-20s. In his features, Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz could see a hint of their shared eastern European Jewish heritage, a reminder of his own youth a generation ago. ● But on the dusty...

Columbia House faces the music

A few months ago, my baby boomer inner child could not resist a novelty T-shirt I saw online. It read: “Columbia House: Life Lessons in Music and Debt Collection.” If you know, you know. If you don’t, gather ’round the turntable, millennials and...

ETCHED IN STONE

WAYNE – It was the type of phone call that mothers fear. Even before Irene Hodupski could answer it, she must have figured that something bad had happened. It was 4:30 a.m. Within hours, on the morning of Sept. 24, 2020, her 36-year-old son, Michael,...

LEFT HIGH AND DRY

No one objects to the essential purpose of New Jersey’s Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. ● But for a distinct minority of Garden State towns, the landmark law to protect drinking water for almost 7 million people is drying out their...

Cultural enrichment

A $24.2 million project planned for the Battleship New Jersey marks the arrival in South Jersey of a state program that sees cultural attractions as a way to promote economic growth. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is providing $19.8...

U.S. debt crosses $40T threshold

WASHINGTON – Total U.S. debt has topped $40 trillion for the first time, the Treasury Department said on Aug. 19, drawing fresh warnings that a fiscal crisis is brewing as ballooning costs for social safety-net programs and interest payments far...

THE CULPRIT BELOW

More than two years after an earthquake rattled the Garden State, a group of researchers are continuing to unravel its unusual nature, officially naming a previously unmapped fault where the quake occurred. The 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck near...

Bayonne team grew from kids to athletes

At 5 years old, AJ Tapia used to giggle when he stood on second base after blasting yet another double to right field. ● Connor Reed decided to try switch hitting when he was 6 and shocked everyone when he hit the ball well from both sides of the...

Funding far afield

For the sake of transparency, details on the line-item requests for the fiscal year 2027 budget were made public Aug. 14 – even though that budget was signed into law back on June 30. The projects, commonly referred to as pork spending or Christmas...

Building blocks

New Jersey Education Commissioner Lily Laux’s to-do list is daunting — as districts’ budgets flail under a torrent of rising costs, and students — especially in urban districts — lag behind in early reading and college readiness, all while the Trump...

TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED

New Jersey’s deadliest known tornado tore through the center of New Brunswick on June 19, 1835, killing five people and carrying debris as far as Manhattan. Forty others were injured, according to a history compiled by the National Weather Service....

BOARDWALK BET A WINNER?

Celebrants of the nation’s 250th Independence Day watched fireworks and partied earlier this month in a city that looks and operates quite differently from the way it did during the 1976 bicentennial. ● A walk along and near the Atlantic City Boardwalk...

THY CUP RUNNETH OVER

By the time you read this, the Spanish national team players are likely back with their families around Europe and the rest of the world. Or perhaps they’re still celebrating together. ● Striker Ferran Torres came off the bench and scored the lone goal...

WORLD SUCCESS

EAST RUTHERFORD – As the clock struck 7:50 p.m. on the evening of July 19, the bulk of Argentina and Spain fans had said their farewells to New York New Jersey Stadium. The World Cup trophy was surely being kissed, touched and passed around by the...

INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY

On a recent late June voting session in Trenton, senate counsel Leon Sokol stood in the back of the air-conditioned chamber, owl-like and arms folded, as the bored and tired senators cast party-line votes on the fiscal year’s budget. ● But 50 years...

IMMORTALITY BECKONS

Can Lionel Messi add to his already best-to-ever-play resume? Or will Lamine Yamal, his successor as the next young FC Barcelona phenom, stake his claim to greatness? Scan the QR code for all of USA TODAY’s coverage.

Trump renews fraud allegations

With less than four months to go before crucial midterm contests, President Donald Trump was naturally focused on the election in his prime-time address to the nation. The election six years ago, that is. With rambling remarks and an ominous tone,...

Sense of comfort

Bhante Nipako grew up in a Roman Catholic family, but the faith never truly resonated with him. ● He was a troubled child who suffered from depression, he recalled. Although he searched for relief, traditional avenues such as therapy, medication and...

RISING DANGER

At least 29 people in New Jersey died in this month’s first heat wave, which lasted five days, with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees, health officials said on Tuesday, July 14. The news comes as New Jersey grapples with another round of extreme...

Beer sales get World Cup boost

Now that the 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to a close, the dust – or rather, the foam – is settling on how much we collectively drank over the last four weeks. Turns out, quite a bit. New Jersey drank about 10% more beer than in this time frame last...

Getting her wings

Robert Newman, member, technical counselor and former president of Ocean County’s Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 898, has contributed to building over 12 airplanes throughout his lifetime. His most recent feat, however, differs from the...

The Gen X factor

New Jersey’s population kept growing after the 2020 census, but one age group shrank in nearly every county. ● By mid-2025, the state had 111,587 fewer residents ages 45 to 64, according to new estimates released in late June by the U.S. Census Bureau....

THE ARTIST WITHIN

For decades, John Paul Ferrara made a living painting romance novel covers, creating images of longing and drama for publishers and bestselling authors. When he lost his sight after brain tumor surgery in 2020, Ferrara thought that life was over. Now,...

Unifying force

After weeks of watch parties, celebrations and impromptu street parades, the World Cup run for Morocco – the last standing team from the Middle East and North Africa – came to an end quietly for viewers in South Paterson. Fans donning red jerseys and...

Removing old junk for the new tunnel

About 500 wooden piles left over from a 19th-century pier will be removed from the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan to make way for a new rail tunnel between North Jersey and Manhattan’s Penn Station. Weeks Marine, a company with a contract...

HOLIDAY OF HELL FOR COMMUTERS

The list of commuting problems for NJ Transit customers was relentless for the past week. NJ Transit commuters are accustomed to summers of hell because of aging, failing infrastructure, but the past week was particularly bad because of the...

No electricity, no choice

In New Jersey, customers can shop for electricity. They cannot, however, shop for the company that comes to turn it back on after a storm. Most homes and businesses are connected to the electric distribution utility assigned to their area. In one...

Games bring joy to communities in strife

Cheers erupt at packed restaurants and cafés. Flags whip from car windows. Horns blare as fans spill onto streets, hugging, dancing and chanting. Across New Jersey, the World Cup has turned neighborhoods into scenes of celebrations. For a few hours at...

‘SHOPPING MALL OF ITS DAY’

Can you imagine New Jersey and its economy without malls? Or huge warehouses? Or container ships? Or tractortrailers barreling down the New Jersey Turnpike? The Ports of Newark and Elizabeth brought in nearly 8.7 million units of cargo by ship in...

'We hold these truths'

As the “Crossroads of the American Revolution,” it’s only fitting that New Jersey was home to one of the very first public readings of the Declaration of Independence. ● On July 8, 1776 – just four days after the declaration was adopted by the Second...

TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is July 4. On this date in: 1776: The Declaration of Independence was unanimously adopted by the 56 delegates of the Second Continental Congress. The document declared the colonies’ intention to separate and be independent from Great...

YOUNG PEOPLE LOVE OLD GLORY

In a country so often torn by polarizing issues and thorny debates, the American flag rises above controversy as a symbol of freedom for all. Fifty students clad in red, white and blue reinforced that message at an elementary school in Mahwah one...

‘One big community’

EAST RUTHERFORD − How many jerseys does it take to win a World Cup in New Jersey? The French national team hopes to find out. Les Bleus had plenty of support in their 3-0, knockout-round victory against Sweden on June 30 at MetLife Stadium. But not...

The real patriots of New Jersey

While the history books may focus heavily on the roles men played during the American Revolution in New Jersey, women from the Garden State played an important part in ensuring the efforts continued as well. From fundraising and collecting material...

TURNING POINT

In December of 1776, just six months after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, George Washington’s Continental Army was in dire straits. Reeling from military losses in and around New York City and North Jersey, Washington’s army was...

Tales of Ore

While most New Jerseyans associate the state’s history of mining as the cause of sinkholes that appeared on Route 80 last year, these ore-rich underground tunnels were also critical to the Revolutionary War and the state’s early economic success. ●...

FACES of the REVOLUTION

Jellyfish deluge fills river in NJ

Asurge of clinging jellyfish are infiltrating the Metedeconk River, where a 6-year-old child has already suffered a severe string, said New Jersey’s leading expert on jellyfish. ● Paul Bologna, the director of Montclair State University’s Marine...

1,000 HURT, MORE THAN 160 KILLED

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodrı́guez said an initial fund of $200 million would be created using resources from the International Monetary Fund dedicated to rebuilding infrastructure, after back-to-back major earthquakes struck the country’s...

PATRIOTISM AND PROMISE

There’s something about a soldier. ● Something about the crisp uniform, the erect posture, the disciplined movements, the upturned eyes. ● Something that says: I am a man, not a slave. ● “The manly, soldierly type is looked at with a lot of respect in...

No apologies from LGBTQ+ leader

ASBURY PARK – An unapologetic 35-year-old Black woman with facial hair is showing up to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights across New Jersey. Brielle Winslow-Majette, the acting executive director of Garden State Equality, a statewide advocacy organization...

Survival in Garden State

We all know it’s getting harder to make ends meet in New Jersey. But the latest numbers put in stark relief how many working families live paycheck to paycheck in the Garden State. A typical family of four — with two working parents and two young...

Stalling out

Via was the success story Jersey City couldn’t get enough of. In less than a decade, the $2 on-demand car service program served more than half the city’s population. Sixty percent of those trips connected people to work, school and health care —...

CONCEALED AND CARRYING

New Jerseyans are fully locked and loaded – and they have the all-clear to walk around in public with fully loaded handguns. ● In the three years since a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantled the state’s previously strict standards for concealed carry...

ICE MAY DROP PLAN FOR ROXBURY SITE

Federal officials are considering abandoning plans for a controversial immigration detention facility in Roxbury, according to a June 18 report by The New York Times, prompting local leaders and state officials to declare a victory after months of...

BROADWAY CURTAIN CALL

It was a celebration 53 years in the making, and millions of New York Knicks fans turned out for the tickertape parade to honor the team in lower Manhattan on Thursday, June 18. The skies opened up and orange, blue and white confetti rained down on...

‘That’s my team’

EAST RUTHERFORD – “Africa in the house!” shouted Chioma Anyanwu, as she headed toward MetLife Stadium before Senegal faced France in the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 16. Though Anyanwu is from Nigeria, she was firmly on the side of Senegal, because,...

WORLD STAGE

MetLife Stadium, aka New York New Jersey Stadium, in East Rutherford hosted France vs. Senegal in a FIFA World Cup group stage match on June 16. For complete coverage of World Cup games, traffic reports and photo galleries, visit NorthJersey.com.

NBA championship defines our big city and its suburbs

We are all New York. That might make New Jersey partisans wince for a moment, but the New York Knickerbockers’ NBA championship unified long-suffering fans across the region who are defined by their never-say-die ferocity. No other sports franchise...