NJ Transit Fuel Spill in Top State News

More than 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel  at a New Jersey Transit facility in Washington Township Thursday morning, contaminating waterways there and in Gloucester Township. A massive cleanup effort was underway by Thursday afternoon.

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As Newark experiences an upsurge in gun violence and high unemployment, clergy and elected officials gathered Thursday night for a special interfaith service to  and bring food and clothing to the needy. The service, "Newark United," was held at the New Hope Baptist Church on Sussex Avenue and featured gospel music, prayer, words of hope, exhortations to do better for the community and even some pointed political commentary from the night's featured speakers.

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A small Warren County school district's legal challenge to the state's controversial anti-bullying law — or at least the cost of it — has drawn supporters and opponents to its argument, including a notable group of Rutgers students who take a "special interest" in the case. Allamuchy's challenge before the state's Council on Local Mandates argues that the anti-bullying law enacted last year has amounted to an unfunded and therefore unconstitutional mandate, given all its requirements for training staff and investigating and addressing complaints. [NJ Spotlight]

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The 26th annual Hoboken St. Patrick's Day parade . The parade committee announced its decision on Friday morning, blaming the city for failing to provide protection for the parade's participants.

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Shaquan Johnson, the 20-year-old alleged Crips gang member accused in the New Year's Eve stabbing death of a Texas man at a Franklin Township hotel, has surrendered to authorities and was charged Friday with murder. But before turning himself in, an apparently carefree and content Johnson appeared in a YouTube video commemorating his "last day of freedom" with a beer, while friends of the man nicknamed "YQ" offered encouragement and support on his Twitter page during his week on the lam. [NJ.com]

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A monk who served as the headmaster of Delbarton School in Morris Township is being  in a letter to its community. But victims advocate Patrick J. Marker says the Rev. Luke Travers, who was Delbarton's headmaster from 1999 through 2007, violated sacred trusts in coming on to a student and trying to get the student to run away with him.

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Jeff Sutton, a New York City real estate titan, has purchased a landmark Ocean Avenue mansion in Deal, a house that sits above a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, for $22.6 million. The sale in Deal, which closed in December, is a big one for a housing market that is trying to regain its footing. [Asbury Park Press]

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Two men were arrested Thursday after Cinnaminson police found they had several outstanding warrants and were , who went missing recently from Camden. Malik A. Headen, 23, of Camden, and Alex B. Kamara, 32, of Pennsauken, were stopped by Cinnaminson Patrol Officer Kevin Bohn around 2:30 a.m. Thursday for a routine tail light violation, police said.

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State legislators took another step toward allowing sports wagers Monday, approving a bill that would allow the state Casino Control Commission to issue licenses to casinos and racetracks to accept bets on some professional and collegiate events. [Press of Atlantic City]

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As Republicans continue to duke it out for the Republican presidential nomination, New Jersey voters are split on President Barack Obama's job evaluation, according to the latest statewide poll by Fairleigh Dickinson Universit's PublicMind. According to the FDU poll, 46 percent of Garden State voters  while 45 percent disapprove—a reversal of two previous polls in which the majority of voters didn't give his performance a thumbs-up.

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More than 1,000 people — including many state officials —  in Parsippany Friday morning to honor General Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce. The Parsippany resident died suddenly Monday night at the Statehouse immediately following the end of the assembly's final vote of its session.