Hello Toms River! Here's our latest buzz. Let's get into it. ☕️️
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In today's newsletter:
Also on today's calendar: Living Well with Lung Disease: Webinars for Patients and Families and 15 more events.
Today's riddle: What do you call a one-legged Big Foot? 🤔 (Answer below!)
1. Public Questions Garden State Parkway Changes (jerseyshoreonline.com) — Major Garden State Parkway changes are coming to the Toms River stretch, with new collector-distributor lanes, renumbered exits, redesigned ramps, and possible sound walls that could reshape your daily commute and neighborhood noise. The multi-phase, multi-year project from Exit 78.8 to 84.5 will alter access at Exits 80–83, and officials are still accepting public comments on design, traffic, and environmental impacts.
2. Grunin Center's "Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon" Celebrates 100 Years of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five Recordings (newjerseystage.com) — Toms River jazz lovers can catch a special Louis Armstrong tribute at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 3 p.m. The "Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon" concert, guided by noted jazz scholars, will feature trumpeter Andrew Stephens, with tickets priced for adults, seniors, and students through the Grunin Center box office.
3. Best French Onion Soup in Ocean County: 4 Favorites (wobm.com) — French onion soup fans in Toms River will be glad to know Four Seasons made the short list of Ocean County's favorite spots for this comfort-food classic. The feature highlights four top-voted restaurants, with Stone Fire Grille in Beachwood leading the pack and Four Seasons standing out as a local favorite worth a visit.
4. Atlantic Cape culinary students earn $7,500 scholarships in cooking competition (shorelocalnews.com) — A Toms River High School student, Payton Sinou, has earned a $7,500 culinary scholarship after winning Atlantic Cape Community College's Vincent DeFinis Restaurant Gala competition with her great-grandmother's pumpkin bread recipe. The story follows her local culinary training, future bakery dreams, and the support this award provides, alongside fellow winner Jazmin de La Rosa Andujar from Galloway.
5. Brick Man Suspected of Assisting Murder Suspect Turns Himself In (shorebeat.com) — A Toms River murder investigation has expanded, as a Brick Township man accused of helping the alleged shooter turned himself in at Toms River police headquarters. Prosecutors say the case centers on a September 18 shooting outside the Route 37 Wawa, with the suspected gunman from Toms River still at large and several area residents charged with assisting him afterward.
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Ok Toms River! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: Hop Squatch! (Thank you Terri R. for sending it in!)
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