Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show.

🔗 Dale Caldwell investigation went on for months, report says

Lt. Governor Dr. Dale Caldwell

✅The investigation into Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell reportedly began months ago
✅Caldwell continued serving as usual during the probe
✅Republicans are demanding answers as the Sherrill administration

Demands from Republicans during the long holiday weekend did not bring further explanation from the Sherrill administration about allegations of inappropriate behavior with women and an offer of a state job involving Lt. Gov. Dr. Dale Caldwell.

The investigation into Caldwell reportedly began months before the public learned about it, yet he continued serving as lieutenant governor and secretary of state and even served as acting governor while the investigation was ongoing.

The New Jersey Globe was first to report the allegations on Friday afternoon and that Gov. Mikie Sherrill had asked Christopher Porrino, who served as attorney general under Chris Christie, to investigate. An investigation started in the late spring following an anonymous tip, according to the business news site BINJE, which reported that Caldwell met with investigators two months ago.

Both reports say Caldwell has cooperated with investigators.

Monmouth County Clerk and New Jersey Republican Party Chairwoman Christine Giordano Hanlon minced no words in calling for Caldwell to resign immediately following the BINJE report about the length of the investigation.

While Sherrill traveled out of state in support of congressional candidates in other states, Caldwell fulfilled his duty as acting governor as the investigation was ongoing. The New Jersey Globe reported that Caldwell served as acting governor for three days after the investigation had begun.

🔗 In August, 997 NJ layoffs were announced by these companies

New Jersey employers have announced 8,177 layoffs through the last full week of June. (Getty images/Canva/TSQ illustration)

⚠️ Eight employers announced 997 New Jersey layoffs in August, bringing the year's total above 12,000.
➡️ HelloFresh is cutting 374 workers in Swedesboro, the largest August layoff announcement.
🔴 UBS opened September with 41 cuts in Weehawken, its third round of layoffs this year.

By the end of August, eight employers had announced a total of 997 layoffs for the month.

Along with the first New Jersey WARN notice filed for September, the state has seen a collective of more than 12,000 layoffs announced this year, so far.

The largest announcement of August remains Hello Fresh, which is cutting 374 workers as it closes up a South Jersey distribution center in Swedesboro.

The second largest round of cuts in August came in the final week or so out of Morris County.

Enablx is laying off 187 people based in Rockaway. Analysts say the cuts at the live customer service call center could be a casualty of the push to use AI bots and automation s a cost-cutting measure.

JP Morgan Chase has now announced five separate rounds of layoffs this year for a total of 540 cuts, so far.

The financial giant has cut employees based out of Jersey City, including the most recent round of 63 layoffs, effective on a rolling basis, from immediately through November.

🔗 NJ girl, 6, kidnapped from home and found an hour later

aijohn784

⚠️ A 6-year-old girl was taken from her Washington Borough home early Saturday.
➡️ The girl was found walking back home about an hour after she was reported missing.
⚖️ A 27-year-old Washington Borough man faces kidnapping and home invasion charges.

WASHINGTON BOROUGH — A young girl was taken during a home invasion in Warren County early Saturday morning, according to authorities.

The 6-year-old girl was reported missing from her Washington Borough home shortly before 3 a.m. on Sept. 5, according to county prosecutors. Officers who responded found it was a kidnapping.

Surprisingly, the girl was found around one hour later heading back home on foot. There's no word from authorities on where she was taken or how she escaped.

Later that day, investigators arrested Lester Noe Perez-Amador, 27, of Washington Borough. State police, Greenwich police, Mansfield police, and the Newark FBI office were credited with helping in the investigation.

Prosecutors said that Perez-Amador was known to the victim but didn't disclose how exactly they knew each other.

🔗 Deadly danger lurking off some of New Jersey's most popular beaches

Yellow flag flies in Seaside Heights

🌊 Ocean County recorded 17 surf-zone deaths from 2016 through 2025, the most of any New Jersey county.
⚠️ Rip currents were responsible for 76% of New Jersey surf-zone deaths during the 10-year period analyzed.
📅 September was the deadliest month, accounting for 19 of New Jersey's 46 surf-zone deaths.

The beautiful beaches of Ocean County come with a potentially deadly distinction. A new analysis by Uplift Legal Funding ranks Ocean County as having the deadliest surf zone in New Jersey. The company analyzed 10 years of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service and found 17 surf-zone deaths in Ocean County between 2016 and 2025. That total also tied Ocean County for ninth deadliest nationwide.

Ocean County wasn't alone. Monmouth County ranked second in New Jersey with 13 surf-zone deaths during the same period, followed by Cape May County with 10 and Atlantic County with six. Rip currents were overwhelmingly the biggest threat. According to the analysis, they were responsible for 76% of New Jersey's surf-zone deaths, compared with 62% nationwide. Twelve of Monmouth County's 13 deaths were attributed to rip currents.

Perhaps the biggest warning in the numbers comes just as the traditional summer season ends. September accounted for 19 of the 46 surf-zone deaths recorded statewide during the decade studied — about 41%. Uplift Legal Funding founder Jared Stern noted that while rip-current deaths typically peak during summer across much of the country, New Jersey's peak comes later. Ocean County health officials recommend swimming at lifeguard-protected beaches whenever possible, never swimming alone and checking surf and rip-current forecasts before entering the water.

Start your day with up-to-the-minute news, traffic and weather for the Garden State.

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You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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