Today, 7/21/2026, a truck struck power lines on RT 70 near Whitesville Rd in Toms River. Road was closed for hours to enable cleanup and repair.

Y’all, the warning means that a tornado most likely touched down and could be headed your way. Don’t go to the windows and look at the storm, I beg of you.

This is a wide boy!

Aftermath of the unconfirmed tornado that touched down yesterday

I was curious about whether the World Cup crowds actually seemed to help local businesses or just jammed up transit, so I pulled some small business numbers to take a look. (I work at Homebase, and we make scheduling and time clock software for hourly teams, so we have a lot of anonymized small business data available).

The short version: more places were open and more people were on the clock during the tournament than the same stretch last year.

For the opening window (June 11-21) active small businesses in the metro area were up about 7% year over year, from roughly 3.7K in 2025 to nearly 4K in 2026, and the number of employees clocking in was up about 9%.

And it didn't fizzle after that time either. Businesses open stayed up about 6-7% through the next few weeks, and employment was still about 7% ahead by week 4... so it cooled off a bit from the spike but stayed above 2025 the whole time. So basically, it looks like the crowds did give local businesses a bump.

For anyone here who owns or works at a small business, does that actually line up with what you saw?

New Jersey has a "Democratic trifecta." The Governor's office and both houses of the state legislature have been controlled by Democrats in an unbroken reign since the last Republican Governor left office in 2017-18.

This is the results. 🫡

So per the new law i got my e-bike registration done on Monday (July 20th) and rode my bike to work tuesday (July 21st) and after just one day one of my stickers already has a small tear in it, im assuming from the intense storm we had yesterday. Not to mention the stickers themselves are flimsy and anyone can just rip them off with little effort. Sure the damage to the sticker is minimal, but the fact it happened after one day doesn't leave me much hope that it'll survive long enough. Again can't say i'm surprised, nothing is made of quality anymore, at least registering the bike was free

First the power lines on Whitesville, now TWO accidents on Rt 70 near Vermont Ave! Is the apocalypse coming or something???

Hey everyone,

With so much new development going up around Hillsborough and Central NJ, I wanted to share a quick reality check on new construction home builds.

A common assumption among buyers is that brand-new means 100% defect-free. But right before the sheetrock goes up is when the true story of the house is revealed.

During a recent pre-drywall phase inspection on a new build right here in Hillsborough, here are just a few of the critical issues we uncovered behind the scenes:

• Mold-Like Growth on Framing: Framing lumber often sits exposed to rain and moisture during initial construction, leading to fungal growth on structural studs before the building is enclosed.
• Incorrect Fasteners / Nail Sizing: Framing nails that are under-sized or improperly installed, which compromises structural shear strength.
• Damaged Truss Framing: Cracked or notched factory trusses that severely weaken roof/floor support if not properly repaired to manufacturer specs.
• Missing Insulation Gaps: Batts and spray insulation missed in critical exterior wall corners, creating huge energy leaks before the walls are closed.
• Damaged Electrical Runs: Wires pinched or nicked by framing crews during rough-in, posing hidden electrical and fire hazards.

The Bottom Line: Once drywall goes up, these defects are permanently sealed away until they turn into expensive repairs years down the line.

If you're building in the area:

1. Schedule a pre-drywall inspection as soon as mechanicals/framing are done, but before insulation and drywall.
2. Walk the site with photos and make sure defects (especially moisture and structural issues) are properly remediated, not just covered up.

Has anyone else buying a new construction home in NJ gone through the pre-drywall phase? What did your inspection catch before the walls closed in?

So, my kid really wants to see a porcupine in the wild in NJ. I was think maybe in the Pinelands but my neighbor said only people in north Jersey have them. Does anyone out there see them and if so, what part of Jersey? thanks

I get the name was temporary but boy that’s a mouthful and the stadium should’ve just been “New Jersey Stadium” the stadium isn’t in New York. If they really wanted to acknowledge NYC for marketing they should’ve called it “NY Metro Stadium”. My friends and I keep joking about how pathetic the name NY/NJ was.

Hey,

I’m (33M) a producer, singer, multi instrumentalist in the Somerset area who specializes in keys and synthesizer, but also does guitar, bass, drums etc. I am looking for some talented musicians who want to join a psychedelic rock band.

We are looking for three members. A soprano singer, bassist, and lead guitarist.

The music itself is synthy psychedelic rock with dream pop, stoner rock, and dark folk influences. There is a heavy social commentary aspect tied to the music and the overall work. It is humanistic in nature, a satirical critique of classical institutions like religion and politics.

We love bands like Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Fleet Foxes, Radiohead, Black Sabbath, crumb, men I trust, mild high club, Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, Khruangbin, Queens of the Stone Age, Wolfmother, and others.

We are looking for a singer with a higher range (more soprano than alto) and dynamic delivery. A delicate and intimate timbre (Ala men I trust) is something we’re after for much of the music, but some of it gets louder and harder so comfortability with a range of styles and deliveries is preferred. Songwriting experience is a plus. The ability to harmonize is preferred. (Vocals will be a shared effort, there is no “lead” vocalist per se, just whatever the song calls for!)

For the guitarist and bassist, we are looking for string players who have an innate understanding of their instrument. Songwriting experiences preferred. We are after a modern vintage sound, so in the realm of fuzzy, ripping, distorted, and riffy sections, tempered by more dry, clean, edge of breakup, jangly vintage tones, ala George Harrison, or more modern slacker rock like Mac.

Also looking for a second synth player!

Happy to send along some sound clips to anyone who is interested.

I have a lot of music written for this project and I am looking for dedicated creatives who want to help finish writing and recording the album and play it out live. My goal is to put together a group of people who enjoy being around each other and who enjoy making music that they can all be excited about. Maybe that’s you!

Looking forward to chatting 😊

There are confirmed tornadoes on the ground take shelter now if you can

Has anyone here had experience with Ramapo Ridge Behavioral Health in Wyckoff, NJ either as a patient or family member? I’m trying to understand what the program is like, what the staff are like, and what to expect after discharge. I’d appreciate any experiences—positive or negative.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/houz-of-francz-comedy-show-tickets-1993560946456?aff=oddtdtcreator

Sharing my story to spread awareness and see if anyone else has had similar experiences in Point Pleasant beach NJ or any surrounding areas.

For background this happened in July 2023 when I was 19 (F) and my friend was 16 (F). My friend and I along with her family went down the shore and spent a weekend at Point Pleasant beach in NJ. Throughout the day my friend and I had noticed a middle aged man following us through shops and making direct and prolonged eye contact. We didn’t think much of it and as teens we mistook it for flirting and played along. Eventually this man got very close to us in a store and while looking directly in my eyes he started kissing another man. We both thought this was odd but assumed we were wrong about the flirting and kept going about our day. We saw him multiple more times even as it became dark, almost as though he was keeping an eye on us.

About 5 minutes after my friend and I saw that man for the last time of the night, a boy around our age approached us asking for my snap. He had came from a large group of boys standing off to the side in an alley alongside the boardwalk. One of his friends approached my friend asking for her snap as well. They said they didn’t have phones on them and had to put their names in our phones. They also didn’t seem to know modern terms or trends and kept saying weird code words to each other throughout our convo. They took a bunch of photos with us on our phones as well before letting us walk away. It was an odd encounter but again, we didn’t think much of it.

About 45 min later my friend and I headed out of an attraction and were immediately approached by the group of boys. I should note the two of us had been alone the entire evening and were still alone at this time. They convinced us to walk with them to the arcade, which was just a trick to get us to the dark and secluded end of the boardwalk. They REALLY wanted us to leave with them down another alley. My friend and I tried every excuse in the book and nothing was working. One of the boys was starting to realize we weren’t as susceptible as they thought and began to try to tell his friend they should go, but his friend was persistent. Eventually my friend told them that her dad was a cop and would be looking for us soon. They immediately left. We were shaken up after that and debated telling cops about our suspicions but there were hardly any cops around and we feared they had been in on it too.

Later that night the boy who approached me did end up texting me on snap, telling me all the things he wanted to do to me and offering to pick me up from our motel to take me with him to Montreal. He told me that he and his friends had spent the day at 6 flags, all live in a mansion in Albany NY, and traveled to Montreal often. Pictures from the Albany house as well as a house in Trenton NJ, and the 6 flags park had been posted on his snap story confirming this. He was a SoundCloud rapper and he and his friend both went by fake names.

I wanted to believe we were just gullible and dumb teenage girls who talked to some sketchy guys at a boardwalk who just wanted to get laid. And we tried to convince ourselves this, but to this day we both have an uncomfortable feeling about the night and it took awhile for us to stop over analyzing the situation. Is it possible the middle aged “gay” man was scouting us and sent the boys to approach us? Maybe the boys were working for someone as a way to live in the states? And could there be a trafficking ring from Trenton/Jersey to Albany and Montreal? I also thought they could possibly be gang affiliated or a friend group trying to get some girls for the night, but I mentioned something about crips and they didn’t pick up on it so I doubt that theory is true. I’m sure this all sounds far fetched, but has anyone had a similar experience?

Also I’m aware my friend and I were very dumb to interact in the first place and it was entirely my fault putting my younger friend in that situation, but we learned our lesson and there are no hard feelings. Maybe all of this was just a coincidence and I am still overthinking, but I’d love to share my story in hopes of connecting the dots for anyone who can relate. I can share more info regarding race, names, dates, and locations but not sure how much is safe to share publicly.

Not an expert, but a swirl was definitely forming.

View from Leonard Gordon Park.

Really hoping nobody got hurt. This was a big one, y’all. Stay safe and dry tonight. ⛈️🌪️