The Record, Bergen County, NJ

Leonard Nach, 85; Longtime 'Potato King' in Wallington

Leonard Nach, the cigar-chomping, customer-schmoozing tater purveyor whose Wallington Potato King was a fixture in the predominantly Polish borough for 90 years, died Thursday. He was 85. The cause was heart disease, said his son, Jeffrey Nach of Leonia.

Finally, Someone's Looking Out for Teens

In listing New Jersey's disadvantages, even cynics overlook the two that should rank the highest two of us die each day on our roads and nobody seems to know what to do about it. That's why Wednesday's event outside Trenton offered so much hope. A panel of drivers young ones, older ones, cops, teachers, bureaucrats, lawmakers, safety experts, insurance agents and others proposed an uncynical list for stemming this scourge.

Highlands Plan Back for Revision ; Criticism Delays Rules for Huge Watershed

The big plan to preserve New Jersey's water-generating Highlands is going back into the shop for some extended tinkering. After taking months of criticism about its tangled plan to protect the state's premier water supply region, the overseeing Highlands Council is going to take another look at it. And that means putting off what seemed like imminent adoption of the plan.

Bar Owner: I Greased Mayor's Palm ; Testifies to Giving Delle Donnas Gifts for Favors

NEWARK - A former bar owner from Cliffside Park testified Thursday that she showered Guttenberg's mayor and his wife with thousands of dollars in cash, political contributions and expensive gifts to keep her profitable business from being closed. During her first day on the witness stand in federal court, Luisa Medrano, 53, recounted how she befriended Anna and David Delle Donna in 2002 and spent lavishly on birthday gifts of jewelry, $500 Macy's gift cards at Christmas, and thousands in cash...

1 Dead in Construction Crash ; Truck Hits Worker at Englewood Site

ENGLEWOOD A truck struck and killed a construction worker Thursday at a condominium work site south of Route 4. Authorities said the worker, who was in his 60s, suffered a broken skull. He was found dead at the West Sheffield Avenue site around 1 p.m., said Deputy Fire Chief Gerald Marion.

Garfield Family Is Trapped in Home That Reeks of Oil ; Owner Sues, Says He's Stuck with Money Pit

GARFIELD A family says their dream home has become an unsafe money pit after a ruptured fuel tank unleashed a plume of oil that has contaminated their property. Albano Gaba said he and his wife, Arjana Fetahu, were thrilled when they moved into their first home at 60 Center Court last March, proud to finally give their two young boys a yard to play in.

Wayne Floats Single Solution to Parking, Revenue Needs ; Seeks Transit Center Commuter Deck, Hotel

WAYNE Wanted: a developer to solve the township's two pressing needs more commuter parking and new commercial ratables. The township is working with NJ Transit to find a developer to build a parking deck, possibly a hotel and retail space at the Route 23 Transit Center.

Worker Who Died Failed to Spot Train ; Nj Transit Report: He Didn't Look Both Ways

A 58-year-old NJ Transit welder failed to look both ways before he was struck and killed by a train last month while working on the tracks in Ridgewood, according to an investigation report released Thursday. NJ Transit pledged in its report to take additional steps to provide workers better protection while they perform maintenance work near any railway.

Samaritan's Mother Seeks Help in Hit-and-Run Case

WEST MILFORD The mother of a Good Samaritan who was injured in a hit-and-run accident is asking for the public's help in finding the driver. Marcia Charnecky of Pompton Lakes also issued a direct plea to the motorist to come forward.

Forger in Rapper Scam Had a Stay in Passaic Jail ; Tricked L.A. Paper About Tupac Shakur Shooting

The man who caused an uproar with forged papers implicating rapper and impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs in a shooting of Tupac Shakur had a brief stay in the Passaic County Jail. James Sabatino, 31, a federal inmate who was incarcerated at the county jail for nine months in 2003, managed to dupe the Los Angeles Times. He provided Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Chuck Philips with faked FBI documents indicating that hip-hop mogul Combs was connected to the 1994 non-fatal shooting of Shakur in the...

Hip-Hop Artist Charged with Selling Crack ; Edgewater Man, 27, Also Wanted As Fugitive From Pennsylvania

A Bergen County hip-hop artist who sings about "cooking" and selling crack in his music video has been charged with drug distribution after he sold crack to an undercover detective, police said. Jeffrey Whitters, 27, of Columbia Terrace, Edgewater, known as "Freck Billionaire," was being held in the Bergen County Jail on $150,000 bail Thursday night, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

Roommate Rejection a Virtual Reality

For millions of teenagers each year, the summer months bring an exciting piece of news: the name of their college roommates for their freshman year. Most universities provide a phone number or an e-mail address, so future roomies can get to know each other. And in recent years, those talks have been augmented by information from social networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook, where most students have their own personal pages.

Wayne Tries a One-Hour Wake-Up Call On Energy Waste ; Scout Sold Council On Global Lights-Out Drive

Wayne Township is urging residents to turn off lights from 8 to 9 p.m. on Saturday as part of a worldwide effort to raise awareness about climate change. Globally, the event is known as Earth Hour 2008. Locally, it is Lights Out Wayne Township.

Driver Injured in Clifton Crash

Clifton Narcotics Bust Nets Belleville Man

CLIFTON Police have charged a Belleville man with selling drugs while patronizing a local Applebee's. Yusef Hakim, who may also use the name Dwane Harpaul, 30, was arrested Wednesday on 16 drug-related charges, Detective Capt. Robert Rowan said Thursday.

Keep an Eye On These Eggs ; Owl Family Stars On Hatching Cam

For the second spring in a row, a pair of Eastern screech owls has started a family in a nesting box in Allendale. Readers can watch the owls on my daily nature blog, Birds, Bats and Beyond at northjersey.com/ owl.

Small Towns Relieved at Phase-in of State Cuts ; Aid Won't Be Yanked at Once

For financially strapped little towns Haledon and North Haledon, there was relief in the air Thursday. The Corzine administration had decided that instead of one big cut in funding to such communities, the cuts could be phased in. And communities that are already sharing services to cut costs might be rewarded for that thriftiness.

Prostitution Sting Snares 2

MAHWAH A prostitution sting at a hotel nabbed two women, one of whom also faces drug charges, police said. Working on information that two women were using the hotel as a base for selling sex, a Mahwah police detective set up an appointment for Wednesday afternoon, Capt. Stephen Jaffe said in a statement Thursday.

Lyndhurst to Limit Store Hours ; Seeks to Avoid All-Night Delis

LYNDHURST In a bid to block the opening of new convenience stores, the township will create new guidelines for 24-hour operations in residential zones. The township has had no recent applications for such businesses, but officials said the measure is intended to avoid confusion if one does apply.

Abby Mann, 80, Screenwriter ; Awarded Oscar for 'Nuremberg'

LOS ANGELES Abby Mann, writer of socially conscious scripts for movies and television and winner of the 1961 Academy Award for adapted screenplay for "Judgment at Nuremberg," has died at 80. Writers Guild of America spokesman Gregg Mitchell said Mann died Tuesday. The cause of death was not given.