They were hospitalized in stable condition.

NEWARK -- Two men were shot Saturday night near Littleton Avenue and Cabinet Street, Newark Police said.

The men were hospitalized in stable condition, Anthony Ambrose, acting public safety director for the city, said.

Police have not identified a motive or suspects, Ambrose said. Detectives are in the early stages of an investigation.

Anyone with information should call (877) NWK-TIPS or (877) NWK-GUNS to leave an anonymous tip.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Police saw her fighting with another woman in the street.

Tiffany George, 29, of Newark. (Newark Police) 

NEWARK -- A woman fighting in the street was arrested for having a gun, Newark Police said.

A Newark Police Community Deployment Team saw Tiffany George, 29, fighting with another woman near Astor and Brunswick streets, police said in a press release.

Community Deployment Teams comprise new officers assigned to walking patrols.

Police broke up the fight. As they did, officers saw a gun hidden in George's pants, police said.

Police arrested George after a brief struggle and charged her with possession of a weapon.

Anyone with information should call (877) NWK-TIPS or (877) NWK-GUNS to leave an anonymous tip.

She was a Bloomfield resident.

CRANFORD -- New Jersey State Police identified the woman killed in a crash Sunday morning on the Garden State Parkway.

Alexis Simpkins was a 25-year-old Bloomfield resident.

She lost control of her 2010 Toyota Corolla at about 5:13 a.m. while driving northbound on the Garden State Parkway, state police Sgt. 1^st Class Gregory Williams said. It's not clear why she lost control.

The Toyota drove off the right side of the road, traveled down an embankment and struck a tree, Williams said. Simpkins suffered serious bodily injury and pronounced dead at the scene at 5:55 a.m.

Simpkins was not wearing a seat belt, Williams said. The road was wet from rain.

Police are still investigating. No one else was hurt.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

NEWARK —€” A man shot and killed in Newark on Saturday has been identified as a 46-year-old city resident. Darius Robinson, who lived on the 100 block of Huntington Terrace in Newark, was pronounced dead at 7 p.m. on Saturday, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Police had responded to a report of a shooting on...

Newark Police responded to the scene of a shooting on Saturday that took the life of Darius Robinson. The file photo seen here is not of the shooting location. File photoA 

NEWARK -- A man shot and killed in Newark on Saturday has been identified as a 46-year-old city resident.

Darius Robinson, who lived on the 100 block of Huntington Terrace in Newark, was pronounced dead at 7 p.m. on Saturday, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Police had responded to a report of a shooting on Huntington Terrace, in the city's South Ward, late in the day Saturday.

No arrests had been made in the case as of early Sunday evening, and Carter could not provide any information on a motive for the shooting.  

At least 36 homicides were reported in Newark this year, according to an NJ Advance Media count.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The wounding of the 29-year-old follows a pair of Saturday shootings that wounded two and left one man dead.

Newark Police are investigating a Sunday afternoon shooting in the city's North Ward that left a 29-year-old Irvington man hospitalized. Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media 

NEWARK -- Police say a 29-year Irvington man was shot and wounded Sunday afternoon in Newark's North Ward, capping a weekend of gun violence.

The man was shot sometime after 2 p.m., near the intersection of Oranton Street and Grafton Avenues, following a dispute, said Capt. Derek Glenn, a Newark Police spokesman. Glenn said the man's wounds appeared to be non-life threatening, and the victim was listed in stable condition at University Hospital.

The Sunday afternoon wounding follows a pair of Saturday night shootings that wounded two men and killed a third. In the first, two men were shot and wounded near Littleton Avenue and Cabinet Street, after the fatal shooting of Darius Robinson on Huntington Terrace.

Glenn said anyone with information about the shootings or any other crimes to contact the Department's 24-hour Crime Stoppers' tip line at 877 NWK-TIPS (877 695-8477) or 877-NWK-GUNS (877 695-4867). he said all tips are kept confidential and could lead to a cash reward.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

This week's collection of some of the thousands of dogs and cats in need of adoption in northern and central New Jersey.

Here is this week's collection of some of the thousands of dogs and cats in need of adoption in northern and central New Jersey.

If a nonprofit rescue group or animal shelter in any of the following counties wishes to participate in this weekly gallery on nj.com, please contact Greg Hatala at ghatala@starledger.com or call 973-836-4922:

* Bergen County

* Burlington County

* Essex County

* Hudson County

* Hunterdon County

* Mercer County

* Middlesex County

* Monmouth County

* Morris County

* Ocean County

* Passaic County

* Somerset County

* Sussex County

* Union County

* Warren County

More pets in need of adoption can be seen here and here.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is mentioned as a potential running mate for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Watch video

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Cory Booker took the microphone at a gathering of a major progressive think tank in Washington and delivered a 25-minute riff, sans notes, of what's at stake in the fall election.

"You cannot love your country unless you love your countrymen and women," Booker (D-N.J.) told the Center for American Progress at its annual gala, taking a role that last year went to Vice President Joe Biden. "We must be the party that brings us together, that calls forth our highest aspirations."  

He drew applause for praising Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, whose campaign chairman, John Podesta, founded the organization. When  Booker left the stage, Bob Hagan, director of political and legislative affairs for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, commented, "It's a good tryout for the vice presidency."

What could affect that tryout is Booker's support from Wall Street donors at a time when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has fueled his insurgent Democratic presidential campaign through attacks on the securities industry.

"Booker's ties to the financial community might cause some concerns in the same way that they have with Hillary," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. "So the Wall Street money that has been crucial to his congressional campaign could become a major liability as people think of him as VP."

Booker: Time for progressives to 'double down'

His advantages is that he could help Clinton appeal to groups crucial to her chances of winning the White House, such as black voters who turned out in unprecedented numbers to help elect President Barack Obama twice, and progressives now backing Sanders.

Booker, one of the few prominent New Jersey politicians who endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, backed Clinton early this time around and has campaigned around the country for her.

"No question would he energize our base, and that's not just the African-American vote," said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th Dist.), a Clinton supporter and the first black woman to represent New Jersey in Congress.

Booker dismissed the vice-presidential talk.

"Senator Booker is focused on serving the people of New Jersey in the Senate," spokeswoman Monique Waters said. "As for the presidential campaign, Senator Booker's only concern is making sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States."

Clinton took in $23.6 million for her 2016 presidential campaign from Wall Street employees through March 31, her biggest source of contributions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group.

During her 2008 presidential campaign, Wall Street employees gave her $7.3 million, her biggest industry source of donations. Financial firms also comprised four of her 10 top sources of campaign cash as a U.S. senator from New York. 

Booker's campaign finance profile looks similar. Booker, who ran in two elections, a 2013 special and a 2014 general, raised $2 million from employees in the securities and investment industry, more than any other congressional candidate during that two-year period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Five of his top 10 sources of donations were employees of investment firms.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, he described as "nauseating" the Obama campaign's attacks on Bain Capital, the private equity fund founded by Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Booker also complained about Republican attacks on Obama and later released a video calling it "reasonable" to discuss a business record Romney made "a centerpiece of his campaign."

Supporters of Sanders said that if their candidate fails to win the nomination, Booker's Wall Street largesse shouldn't keep him off Clinton's ticket.

"I don't think taking money in and of itself is a disqualification," said one Sanders backer, Bill Caruso, former executive director of the state Assembly Democrats. "In the end, when he puts his record out there, it's a pretty good record." 

The record is this: Booker joined Obama and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and pushed over Wall Street's objections to prevent financial managers from recommending investments unsuitable for retirees. New rules took effect in April.

He also opposed Republican efforts to weaken the financial regulation law enacted in response to the 2008 recession.

"I don't need economists to describe the pain that Americans felt; I saw it myself," Booker said on the Senate floor in December 2014. "We must ensure that the necessary and important protections that shield taxpayers and our economy from the failures of 2008 remain in place." 

Sanders' N.J. campaign chair, Assemblyman John Wiesniewski (D-Middlesex), said that if his candidate isn't on the Democratic ticket, the party needs someone with "a track record of embracing the ideas Senator Sanders has talked about."

N.J. can still have a politician on ticket

Could Booker fill that role?

"We see him as definitely a leader of the next generation of progressives," said Carmel Martin, CAP's executive vice president for policy. "He'll be a real energizing voice in this political cycle to get people engaged in this election."

Rather than turn away voters, Booker's Wall Street ties could attract investors repelled by presumptive 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said Rogan Kersh, provost and political science professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

"Booker's Wall Street connections could help encourage anti-Trump Republicans to pull the lever for a Democratic ticket this fall," Kersh said.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook 

The team of residents from St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark bested teams from 50 hospitals to nab the title.

NEWARK -- For the first time in the contest's 22-year history, a team of doctors from New Jersey took top prize at 'Doctor's Dilemma,' an international medical Jeopardy-style competition hosted by the American College of Physicians each year.

The team of five residents from St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark beat out 50 other teams representing hospitals across the world at the competition, which was held at the ACP's Internal Medicine meeting in Washington, D.C. from May 5 through 7.

In a release about the victory, Dr. Patrick Alguire, ACP's senior vice president for medical education, congratulated the team for winning the contest's top prize, the "Osler Cup" trophy.

"The high-stress and grueling competition is designed to highlight the winning team's ability to quickly and correctly answer questions in multiple specialty areas, including common and esoteric medical topics," he said in the release. "ACP extends a hearty congratulations to Saint Michael's."

St. Michael's sale saves 1,300 jobs

To represent New Jersey in the competition, the team competed at the state level in March, and beat out teams from Newark Beth Israel, Atlanticare Health, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, and Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

The international bowl included three rounds of competitive play. In the finals, the doctors faced teams from the University of Indiana, the University of Pennsylvania and MedStar Health in Maryland.

The N.J. team received a warm welcome when they returned home.

"Each member of the team demonstrated...the same dedication and commitment they have made to their professional development and patients throughout their residency training," said Dr. Joseph R. DePasquale, chief academic officer and program director of internal medicine at Saint Michael's.

"They are an outstanding group of men and women."

St. Michael's, a 149-year-old hospital that was threatened by financial woes and closure until it was recently acquired by the for-profit chain Prime Healthcare Services, offers residencies in anesthesia, internal medicine and podiatry.

The members of the winning team are: Dr. Ahmad Abuarqoub of Hackensack, Dr. Amer Hawatmeh of Woodland Park, Dr. Sahitya Posimreddy of Harrison and Dr. Parijat Sen and Dr. Nedal Matani, both of Newark.

In a statement, Dr. Hawatmeh said the team was "honored" to represent St. Michael's and New Jersey.

"We entered the competition with a competitive spirit and enormous expectations," he said.

"Although intense, the competition was an enjoyable experience. I'm proud to be a member of such a great team."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Groups 1 through 4 and Non-Public A and B are included in the preview

Groups 1 through 4 and Non-Public A and B are included in the preview

Check out the previews for the start of the sectional baseball playoffs

Check out the previews for the start of the sectional baseball playoffs

At least 11 school districts in New Jersey have recently reported elevated lead levels.

In the wake of the disclosure of elevated lead levels in some Newark public schools for the past four years, numerous districts in the Garden State have started testing their water and nearly a dozen have found lead in excess of the federal limit.

Thirty-eight public schools in Newark have lead levels over the federal limit of 15 parts per billion, and some school officials have known about the elevated levels since 2012.

Large school districts such as Paterson, Parsippany-Troy Hills and New Brunswick have also reported lead levels exceeding the federal limit. Fourteen out of 45 Paterson public schools were found to have elevated lead levels, compared to seven Parsippany schools and six New Brunswick schools.

However, one Parsippany school, Lake Hiawatha Elementary School, had a water source more than 100 times over the federal limit.

Other districts that have disclosed elevated lead levels in their water include:

• Bridgewater-Raritan
• Leonia
• Bergenfield
• Hamilton (Mercer)
• Princeton
• West Windsor-Plainsboro
• Ewing
• Lawrenceville
• Denville

In 2002, water testing revealed the presence of lead in Camden public schools, and, in some schools, water fountains have been shut off for more than a decade, WNYC reported. Students and staff instead drink from water coolers instead of fountains.

Gov. Chris Christie recently announced the state would begin testing the water at New Jersey schools this year and that the state would adopt stricter guidelines with regard to lead testing for children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no safe lead level in children. Even at low levels, lead has been shown to affect intelligence, the ability to pay attention and academic achievement. Lead exposure can be dangerous for adults as well.

For children up to the age of 5, experts use a reference level of 5 micrograms per deciliter of lead in blood to identify children with elevated blood lead levels. In the past, blood lead level tests used a higher threshold of 10 micrograms per deciliter to identify elevated levels, which is the standard New Jersey still uses.

The CDC advises that children with blood lead levels greater than or equal to 45 micrograms per deciliter of lead in blood receive chelation therapy -- a treatment that's used to remove heavy metals or minerals from the body.

More information is also available on the CDC's website.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Wearing masks, the robbers entered the office of Smart Carte, a private luggage cart and locker rental business located in Terminal B. They made off with $120,000 cash, police said

NEWARK -- Wearing masks for a mid-afternoon caper, a pair of gunman robbed $120,000 from a luggage cart rental office at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday, according to police sources. 

The robbers entered the office of Smart Carte on the non-secure side of Terminal B at 2:05 p.m., one of them brandishing a handgun, said Joe Pentangelo, a spokesman for the Port Authority Police. Pentangelo said the robbers then made off with the cash, leaving two Smart Carte employees bound and tied.

No injuries were reported, and the incident remains under investigation, Pentangelo said.

Smart Carte is a private company based in St. Paul, Minn., that rents luggage carts and lockers and provides other services at Newark Liberty and other airports.

"Smarte Carte is the leading provider of self-serve vended luggage carts, electronic lockers, commercial strollers and massage chairs at more than 1,900 locations worldwide," the company's website states.

The company did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Though guns are less common at New York City-area airports than at their counterparts in the rest of the country, they are not unheard of. Typically, hand guns are seized from purses and carrying-on bags at security checkpoints, often with the passenger's explanation that he or she had forgotten about the gun. And of course, Port Authority Police and federal air marshals carry guns.

But reports of armed robberies are very rare. In this case, the incident took place on what's known as the non-secure side of the terminal, accessible to members of the general public from the street or parking areas, without any security screening.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

24 Jones is now open and leasing.

NEWARK -- They are apartments equipped with stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, a fitness center, and a doorman - and they are in the middle of Newark's Central Ward.

24 Jones, the mixed-use development next to the game-changing ShopRite that opened on Springfield Avenue in Newark last fall, has officially started renting market-rate apartments. When the supermarket opened in an area that had once been deemed a "food desert" for its lack of access to quality food stores, city officials lauded it as a neighborhood revitalizer. Eight months later, the developer behind 24 Jones says it is continuing the mission.

"We really see this as the kind of mixed use development that could and should be done around the country," said Richard Tucker, the CEO of the company behind the complex, Tucker Development.

"It brings vitality to the area. ...There are so many good things happening in this city. This is just a continuation of that."

The complex includes 152 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartment units, a fitness center, and a parking lot.

ShopRite brings 100s of jobs to Newark

The Springfield Avenue Place development also includes retail components, which should be open by this fall, and will include a McDonald's, Taco Bell, Huddle House, Sarku Japanese, H&R Block, Roberto's Pizza, Angel Nails and Venus Beauty Supply.

Though some of the retail buildings in the complex are not yet finished, Jeffrey Glenner, Tucker's Vice President of Development, said there is not much work left to do before the entire development is complete.

"We're in the final build out...(retail) tenants are coming in," he said. The group is also in talks with several other companies who have yet to officially sign on, he said.

Starting apartment rents in the complex range from $1,400 to $2,400 a month, Glenner said. The units, Tucker said, are being targeted to Newark college students and recent graduates, as well as other residents.

According to a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Economic and Housing Development, the anticipated tax revenue from the development is not known. But, in a statement from the department, she said the city is "excited to partner" with Tucker.

"While ShopRite serves as a major anchor on Springfield Avenue, we welcome all residential and commercial improvements. We are committed to the betterment of all of Newark," she said in the statement.

The large home appeared to be severely damaged in the blaze.

FAIRFIELD -- A township home was damaged Monday in a daytime fire, officials confirmed in an online post.

Fairfield firefighters responded to the fire in a home on Ralph Drive, officials posted on their Facebook page. Crews could be seen fighting a fire at the front and top of the large home, and the roof appeared to be partially collapsed.

Fire officials did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

In New Jersey, there have been 13 deaths by lightning since 2006. Watch video

Death by lightning strike is rare.

It's extremely rare in New Jersey, where a death by lightning has not occurred in nearly four years. But from 2006 to 2012, a total of 13 people lost their lives in the state after being struck by lightning.

According to the National Weather Service, there have been five lightning deaths in the United States so far in 2016 -- two in Florida, two in Louisiana and one in Mississippi.

Most, but not all, of the deaths in New Jersey occur between June and August -- considered peak lightning season, according to the National Weather Service.

In the Garden State, lightning can strike just about anywhere, anytime and under any circumstance.

As that peak season approaches, weather experts encourage awareness of the powers of Mother Nature.

Here is a look at those killed by lightning in the Garden State in the past 10 years:

13. Death of a daredevil

Holmdel resident Allen Emer in September 2001. (Photo courtesy of Sean Emer) 

Balloonist Allen Emer, 59, died June 24, 2006 after lightning struck as he slept in a hammock in Round Valley State Park in the Lebanon section of Clinton Township. "Lightning struck a tree where the hammock was attached," Emer's son, Sean, told NJ Advance Media. Emer, a Holmdel resident, was a daring balloonist who stood atop his balloon after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and waved a U.S. flag. At the time of his death, Emer was on a kayacking trip. "We've always thought that given the nature of what he did, this was a fitting way for him to go out," his son said.

11 & 12. Lightning strikes a soccer field

They were two friends from Bergen County home from college playing a game of pickup soccer at an elementary school in Montvale when lightning struck on July 22, 2006. Lee Weisbrod, 19, of River Vale and Steve Fagan, 18, of Woodcliff Lake began walking off the field with other players when witnesses heard a second thunderclap and saw Weisbrod and Fagan thrown into the air. The men died later that night at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood of severe burns and trauma. The deaths prompted Bergen County to invest in lightning detection systems for its athletic fields.

10. Matron of honor killed at rehearsal dinner

Cindy Osler of Howell had planned every detail of her best friend's wedding. At a rehearsal dinner on Friday, Aug. 17, 2007 - the eve of the wedding - the skies turned dark above The Ivy League restaurant on Route 9. Osler and the best man went outside to make sure their car windows were rolled up. That's when a bolt of lightning struck. "Everybody was so happy, and then it became a nightmare," Dave Tarnowski, the best man, told The Star-Ledger. Tarnowski, who had been knocked to his knees by a lightning blast that tore through the asphalt, found Osler on the ground. Paramedics were unable to revive her and she was pronounced dead at a hospital in Freehold.

9. Death in a fishing boat

Tony Gardner of West Milford was on his boat fishing when a thunderstorm swept through Upper Greenwood Lake about 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007. Gardner, 47, was killed instantly when lightning struck. Police found him the next morning about 10 feet from shore, his body leaning against the boat's windshield and a fishing pole rested in a holder on the side of the boat. Gardner was the third person struck by lightning in New Jersey while boating that weekend. He was the only fatality.

8. Electrical storm takes a life on the beach

Sandy Hook after Pablo Garcia was hit by lightning. (Joe Epstein/The Star-Ledger)  

Pablo Garcia of Elizabeth was with friends on the southern end of Sandy Hook on July 27, 2008 when an electrical storm kicked up. Garcia, 38, and two of his friends were hit. The companions survived; Garcia did not. According to news reports, the lightning was contained in a series of strong, fast-moving thunderstorms that socked the state with heavy rains and damaging winds, dropping nickel-sized hail in Camden, Cape May, Gloucester and Monmouth counties. 

7. Struck seeking shelter

A tree in Hamilton Township sits uprooted after heavy storms moved throughout the state on Sunday, July 26, 2009. (Michael Mancuso | Trenton Times) 

Four cousins in Newark who sought refuge from a lightning storm traveling through New Jersey were struck by lightning in a wooded area behind apartments on Mount Vernon Place shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2009. Isaac Coello-Pineda, 22, of Newark, was killed. The lightning strikes were part of a severe storm that brought quarter-sized hail, funnel clouds and winds as fast 75 mph to parts of the state.

6. Hit by lightning while watching a fire ignited by lightning

Anthony Forte (File photo) 

When lightning struck a house in Middletown on July 19, 2010, Anthony Forte - who was walking home from church - stopped with a small group of spectators to watch the fire. Moments later, lightning struck a tree that Forte was touching. Family members said at the time they believed the lightning may have been attracted to a leg brace that the 49-year-old Forte was wearing. A police officer and another bystander were treated and released after they were injured by the lightning. Six people in the home escaped the blaze, which started in the attic.

5. Lightning kills man 48 years after his father was struck

When Stephen M. Rooney was age 5, his father was struck and killed by lightning. So when a thunderstorm kicked up during a family picnic in Hammonton on July 3, 2011, Rooney wasn't afraid. "Don't worry guys - you're with me. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same family," he said. Moments later, he was struck by lightning. He died five days later.

4. Lightning strikes Atlantic City construction workers

Concrete worker Bryan Bradley, a husband and father from Linwood, was part of a three-man crew working on the fifth-floor roof deck of the Revel casino and hotel on Sept. 15, 2011 when a fast-moving storm swirled overhead. Lightning struck the basket of a cement pourer while Bradley was holding the handle, according to news reports. He died a short time after being struck. The two other workers were injured. In 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Network Construction for violating federal regulations that say once a local storm warning has been issued, a person in charge must determine if equipment must be secured. Bradley's wife, Carmen, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company.

3. Death by lightning on the Jersey Shore

Lightning strikes the water near Monmouth Beach in 2013. (File photo) 

Indira Tursunova, 48, left her hometown New City, N.Y., for a brief vacation at the Jersey Shore. Like millions of others, she was seeking relief from temperatures of reaching more than 100 degrees in recent days. Family members reported Tursunova was walking along a sea wall  at Monmouth Beach when she was struck by lightning at 7:41 p.m. on Saturday, July 7, 2012. Two police officers, an off-duty Long Branch EMT and an off-duty employee from Jersey Central Power & Light tried to aid the woman. She died at a hospital about 6 a.m. the next morning.

2. Lightning strike while fishing

Everyone who knew Sebastian Castillo knew how much he loved fishing. The 41-year-old hospital aide from Bergen County was with his 10-year-old son when he was hit by a lightning bolt on Aug. 15, 2012 at Lake Takanasee Beach in Long Branch. His son ran for help. Castillo was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day.

1. Killed watching grandson play soccer

(Star-Ledger file photo) 

Haworth resident Viktor Ovsyankin, 71, was at Northern Valley High School on Friday, Sept. 7, 2012 in Demarest watching his grandson - a freshman at the school - play soccer. Suddenly, lightning struck two trees around the ball fields. Ovsyankin had been standing near one of the trees. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center where he died four hours later. As of this writing, Ovsyankin was the last person to die of a lightning strike in New Jersey. His death and two others in 2012, prompted some communities to research lightning detection systems and other methods of keeping people safe. In East Rutherford, the borough council considered a law that would allow local police to ticket anyone defying an order to leave athletic fields during a storm.

Alex Lagowitz, 23, who grew up in Livingston, worked at Merril Lynch.

NEW YORK -- A Livingston native and recent Colgate University graduate died after plunging 23 floors while under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms, NYPost.com reported.

Alex Lagowitz, 23, who worked as an analyst at Merril Lynch, was found dead on a third floor patio at his apartment building in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan around 10 a.m. Sunday, the Post reported.

Alex Lagowitz 

Police told The Post that Lagowitz had taken about four grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms before his death. The Post, citing a source, said that police believe Lagowitz jumped out of his bedroom window on the 26th floor of the building.

Lagowitz's roommate, Max Kaplan, 22, was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance when additional mushrooms were found inside the apartment, police also said. Kaplan is a native of West Orange, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

A 2015 graduate in economics from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., Lagowitz  was also a member of the school's golf team and caddied at the Essex County Country Club in West Orange, the Mail also reported. He is survived by his parents and a sister.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Two toll lanes have been closed since a fatal crash at the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 14 toll plaza took them out in January.

Two lanes have been closed at the New Jersey Turnpike exit 14 toll plaza since they were damaged in a fatal crash in January.

That crash happened on Jan. 20, when the driver of a westbound vehicle lost control and hit the concrete divider and toll booth in lane 13. The vehicle rolled over, killing a passenger in the front seat, according to State Police. 

The toll lanes on the far left side of the toll plaza in Newark remain closed since the crash. That has complicated traffic patterns for drivers coming off the Turnpike's Hudson County extension and continuing on I-78 west, said an NJ.com user.

Construction is underway to reopen two closed toll lanes at Exit 14 on the N.J. Turnpike.Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

"It is now a mess, with cars and trucks cutting across, trying to get to the two far left toll booths from the turnpike," he wrote. "After paying the toll, drivers are cutting all the way to the right to get onto the Route 78 local lanes."

Q: When will the two tollbooths be fixed at exit 14 in Newark? 

A: After months of waiting, there is good news. Preliminary work is underway as of Monday morning, as shown in our photograph.

Work should be completed during the first week in June, said Thomas Feeney, a Turnpike Authority spokesman. The steel for the temporary roof canopy support is scheduled to arrive in the middle of the week.

"Once that's in, the damaged toll booth will be removed and a new one will be installed," he said.

That means drivers coming off the turnpike extension will need to be aware of a construction zone on the far side of the toll plaza and of different locations of open E-ZPass and cash lanes, based on what was seen Monday.

There are no shortage of issues in the commuting world, from how long you can leave your car running in the convenience store parking lot before getting a ticket, to why brand new sign structures on toll roads look so rusty.

Questions are answered in the order they are received, unless there is a time factor, such as with today's question. Answers may take varying amounts of time, depending on how much research is required.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Throughout its varied history, the hotel has played host to four U.S. presidents, Albert Einstein, and the Dalai Lama.

NEWARK -- Four U.S. presidents, the leader of the country's Civil Rights Movement, and the physicist who developed the theory of relativity are just a few of the distinguished guests who have stayed at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark over the past 100 years.

Like the city it calls home, the Robert Treat has endured a long and varied history, and is now, locals say, poised to be a part of Newark's revitalization.

The Robert Treat, named for the colonial leader who founded the city, opened in 1916, to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Newark's founding. Then President and First Lady Woodrow and Edith Wilson were among its first guests. The 15-story, 176-room hotel on Park Place was the first luxury hotel in the city. It boasted a lobby with large columns and marble steps, and was known for its impressive guest rooms.

Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter all stayed at the Treat. It hosted grand dinners and events that honored guests like Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Throughout its 100 years, historians say the hotel has anticipated and embraced the changing nature of the city it calls home.

Much of Newark's recent history is defined by the 1967 riots, and a demographic shift from a mostly middle class, white population to a majority poor, black one. Historians say the Treat survived Newark's transition by embracing it.

"Black folks have always felt comfortable at that hotel," said Junius Williams, professor and the Director of the Abbott Leadership Institute at Rutgers University - Newark.

The hotel, he said, has had "class and race-based success. The black political establishment has always been welcome there, and it was able to maintain its success with the white population, and across different classes, as well."

The hotel hosted cultural and political events throughout the period, Williams said, ranging from boxing matches to mayoral birthday parties.

But according to its current owner, by the 1980s, the hotel had lost a bit of its own history. A fire had destroyed the building's original lobby, and it had gone through several ownership changes.

"It wasn't even called the Robert Treat anymore," said Miles Berger, chairman and chief executive officer of the Berger Organization, which purchased the hotel in 1986.

"It was a 'Quality Inn.'"

Berger said one of his first orders of business was to partner with the Best Western Hotel chain -- which allows its members to use other hotel names -- and reclaim the 'Robert Treat' moniker.

The company has done more than $10 million in renovations to the hotel, which Berger said both upgraded and updated its facilities and guest rooms, and restored its lobby.

As Newark entered a period of citywide rebuilding in the 1990s, the Robert Treat's location proved to be key. It is in the most redeveloped area of the city, and acts as a neighbor to venues like NJPAC, which opened in 1997, the Prudential Center, which opened in 2007, and Military Park, which was completely refurbished in 2014.

Maize, the hotel's ground floor restaurant, opened in 2000. The hotel now, Berger said, caters to guests from around the world, many of whom are visiting New York City, but opt to stay in Newark because of the quick public transportation into NYC, and its cheaper hotel rates.

In recent years, the Robert Treat has hosted events ranging from Mayor Ras Baraka's inaugural ball to Newark Comic Con, and even lodged contestants when "America's Got Talent" filmed in Newark.

Locals say the city is experiencing a renaissance. Berger agrees.

"We've been talking about it for 30 years, but now it is actually happening," he said.

As for the hotel's 100th birthday, Berger said he is currently working with the Newark Celebrates 350 committee to design a celebration event that will coincide with the ongoing, yearlong slate of events commemorating the city's 350th anniversary. He said he also plans to continue the hotel's tradition -- a delicate balancing act of changing with the city, while retaining its own history.

"All of the other great hotels of the city have closed," Berger said. Why the Robert Treat didn't suffer the same fate?

"It was probably the right size (and location)...and maybe just luck."

Senate Judiciary Committee also approves health commissioner

TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie pick for Banking and Insurance commissioner won the support of a Senate panel Monday, but not before the nominee endured a grilling over the administration's approval of a controversial insurance plan.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also approved the nomination of acting Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett with little debate.

Acting Banking and Insurance Commissioner Richard Badolato faced tough questions from Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex), stemming from his department's decision in September to approve Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's OMNIA tiered health network. 

OMNIA offers consumers discounted premiums, as well as low or no copays for patients who use "tier 1" hospitals and doctors, selected by Horizon.

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Gill has stood beside hospitals relegated to "tier 2" status - most of them independent, relatively small and who serve a large number of Medicaid or uninsured patients - which have sued for being excluded from the top tier and challenged the department's approval of OMNIA. These hospitals claim their exclusion from the preferred tier threatens their financial stability because Horizon is the state's largest insurer.

But when Gill asked Badolato to explain why the department approved the OMNIA plan, even after department officials acknowledged the top tier came up short on offering obstetric care in Burlington County, the nominee declined to discuss the particulars.

"As a lawyer, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on these matters" which are under litigation, said Badolato, who was a partner in the Connell Foley law firm in Roseland before he was nominated by the governor in June.

He also refused to discuss pending legislation Gill sponsored that would require insurance companies to disclose the criteria they use to decide which hospitals and medical providers are selected for their preferred tiers. Badolato referred her to Christie's office.

"It's not that I am trying to duck the question," he said, adding, "I have no choice. I hope you would respect my position."

Gill expressed outrage, and suggested his nomination should be held until he was willing to be more forthcoming.

"I want to engage in this with discussion with you. The governor's office - whatever that amorphous thing that is - is not the commissioner," Gill said. "I have never had a commissioner refuse to discuss at a hearing for confirmation even conceptual issues."

Badolato's refusal to discuss tiered networks "does not recognize the separation of powers" between the executive and legislative branches of government, "and the right of the public to know." 

Badolato's nomination passed by a 12-0 vote, with Gill abstaining.

Bennett's nomination passed by a 13-0 vote following some debate over the latest Leapfrog Group most recent hospital safety score, among other issues.

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) noted Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus earned a D rating. Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark earned an F, although Weinberg acknowledged change is expected there because it was recently bought from bankruptcy. 

"You don't have to answer me right now, but what can your department do to change what is going on there, or what we need to do legislatively to change what is going on there?" Weinberg said, referring to Meadowlands hospital.

"Maybe we need a takeover of the hospital? We can't let these kids of things go on. We need to be sure patients and staff are protected," Weinberg said.

A Meadowlands spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

The full Senate must approve the appointments before they are considered permanent.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.