NJ’s Top News For 9/29: More Masks, More Dead Dolphins

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Friday:

⬛ NJ GOP candidate charged with strangling domestic violence victim

MATAWAN — Republicans in this borough are disavowing a candidate running for a local council seat after he was arrested over the weekend.

Joseph Saggese, 61, of Matawan was running as a Republican for one of two open at-large council seats in this November's elections.

Saggese was arrested in the borough on Sunday. He has been charged with second-degree aggravated assault for strangulation in a domestic violence incident and simple assault, Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Mark Spivey said.

⬛ GRAPHIC: Three dolphins stranded at NJ shore beaches

After nearly a month without any reported marine life strandings, three dolphins have died at the Jersey Shore this week.

According to the Marine Mammal Stranding, a sub-adult male common dolphin was initially found alive in Sea Isle City on Monday and pushed back out to sea by beachgoers. It stranded itself again and was euthanized due to being underweight and lethargic.

Two more dolphins, both sub-adult bottlenose dolphins, were found Wednesday in Mantoloking and Keyport.

⬛ Mask mandates continue to expand in New Jersey

As COVID-19 admissions continue to rise at New Jersey Hospitals, more facilities are implementing new mask mandates.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to list community infection rates as 'low' for the majority of the Garden State, there are regions where transmission rates are elevated.

⬛ We're seeing more of these on NJ roads, and more people are dying

Two New Jersey men have died after separate e-bike crashes about a week apart, police confirmed.

In Burlington County, police in Burlington City responded to the 1100 block of East Pearl Street the morning of Sept. 19, after a crash involving a vehicle and electric bicycle.

On Wednesday around 8 a.m., Toms River police said a 33-year-old man from Little Egg Harbor died shortly after his e-bike drifted into traffic and he was struck by a car.

⬛ Why are concert tickets in NJ, NY so expensive and tough to buy?

Live Nation Entertainment President and CFO Joe Berchtold blamed an influx of “bots” on their system during Swift ticket presales in November 2022.

Berchtold apologized to the superstar and her fan base, saying they would “do better.”

In the months that followed, two of New Jersey’s Congressional delegates introduced a measure to crackdown on questionable ticket sale practices.

“A fan shouldn’t have to sell a kidney or mortgage a house to see their favorite performer or team,” U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell said in a May release.