Suspect Barricaded Himself Near Daycare: 5 Must-Read NJ Stories

Good evening, New Jersey Patch readers! We've assembled some of the most share-worthy stories from the state for today, just for you.

Here are the top five stories from New Jersey:

1. World champion Joey Chestnut will face off against fellow competitive eaters on Sept. 30 for a new Major League Eating competition, right here in New Jersey. Contestants have eight minutes to scarf down as many cheesesteak egg rolls as possible. (Read more on Patch.)

2. New Jersey's second largest hospital network brought back a mask mandate this week. Hackensack Meridian Health is again requiring that all patients, visitors and staff wear face masks at four of its hospitals. Hackensack Meridian said it's because those four hospitals have seen the largest increase in COVID-19 cases. (Read more on Patch.)

3. Faced with increasing instances of bullying and complaints that the state's anti-bullying laws aren't doing enough to protect students who are targeted, a state task force will be holding two hearings on the laws in October. Bullied students and their families are invited to testify before a task force studying how New Jersey's anti-bullying law is applied in real life. (Read more on Patch.)

4. Prices remain hot on the real estate market in New Jersey, with 64.5 percent of homes going over list price as of the most recent Zillow data. With home prices up 5.2 percent over the past year, see price changes this summer in your Garden State neighborhood. (Read more on Patch.)

5. SWAT personnel safely arrested a suspect who barricaded himself Wednesday inside a South Jersey home near an elementary school and daycare, according to police. The facilities were placed in a "secure perimeter status" with school resource officers remaining on-scene, authorities said. (Read more on Patch.)