State Wrap: Massive Fires in Toms River and Camden; 'X-Factor' Comes to Newark

The heat of fire coupled with the heat of June and a metal roof created a at a blaze that heavily damaged portions of a small strip mall on Route 166 near Old Freehold Road and James Street in Toms River on Thursday morning.

The blaze ripped through all four businesses in the plaza: Wizard O'Wash laundromat, Bombay convenience store, Attilio's Pizza and Vespia's Goodyear Tires.

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Newark Mayor Cory Booker and said unequivocally he would remain mayor of Newark.

"For now, I will remain the mayor of Newark for the next three years," he told Patch in an exclusive interview Wednesday night. "Some people may have heard that because of the creation of CoryPAC, but in fact that was created to help support the city of Newark on the federal level."

The speculations over Booker's future went into overdrive this week when it was revealed that Booker filed papers to form a PAC with the FEC. The organization, CoryPAC, which is chaired by Bari Mattes, a former municipal employee and Booker adviser, was filed Monday, according to the five-page report.

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In an , New Jersey Acting Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf said the charter school issue is "unnecessarily controversial."

"A charter school is one that's open to all, tuition free, publically funded, no admissions test," he said. "It’s a not-for-profit entity that’s accountable for a certain set of results. When people say it’s draining money from the public schools, that’s false. A charter school is a public school in every sense of the word."

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Tennessee Titans player Kenny Britt was arrested Wednesday night by Hoboken narcotics officers after allegedly resisting arrest and tampering with evidence, . The arrest comes a day after the wide receiver admitted to careless driving in his hometown of Bayonne.

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Fans of the new Fox show "X Factor" in Thursday afternoon's sweltering heat for day two of auditions, while also hoping to catch a glimpse of the show's celebrity judges. Newark was the third city to host auditions after visits to Los Angeles and Chicago.

Created by Simon Cowell, the British television show has met the same success that "American Idol" has received in the U.S. Similar to "Idol," the contestant is judged by a panel who then vote on a winner who will receive a $5 million recording contract.

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A raging in Camden on Thursday afternoon led to the suspension of PATCO Hi-Speed Line rail service to South Jersey. Service resumed shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday, using only one track in an area affected by the massive fire. Full service resumed a short time later.

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Mass transit riders who see suspicious items will be able to text alerts to law enforcement under a unveiled by NJ Transit Wednesday morning.

The new “Text Against Terror” initiative was announced during the transit agency’s board meeting as the newest homeland security measure for the system. The initiative will allow customers to text reports to 65873 if passengers do not want to call the existing terror hotline at 1-888-TIPS-NJT.

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Also at New Jersey Transit, the agency's board voted to , which will be deployed around the state. The vote came after several transit advocates asked the board to delay the vote in order to consider the option of low ride buses instead of the traditional buses being purchased. The $68.6 million contact will replace aging buses in the state's 1,135-vehicle commuter bus fleet.

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Bad economic times are good times for road projects, . As proof he points to two contracts to be awarded next Wednesday for prices well below the engineer’s estimate. He sees that as evidence contractors are willing to sharpen their pencils to get work in a down economy.

Rebuilding about two miles of Lacey Road from Route 539 to Schoolhouse Road in Manchester Township will cost $4.07 million, under the contract going to C.J. Hesse Inc., of Belford. That is $100,000 under the estimated cost.

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Officials at JCP&L determined by Thursday evening that an equipment failure in an underground electrical vault on South Street in Morristown was the cause of a that sent thick black smoke into the air from several grates in front of As a result, some 1,700 JCP&L customers located south and east of the area were without power several hours.