Christie Promise, Teen Death, Shooting Arrest Top NJ News

Republican Gov. Chris Christie touted his admittedly blunt approach to governing while promising to lower taxes and work with "right-minded Democrats" to complete the "Jersey comeback" in a town hall meeting Thursday. Several hundred residents packed an auditorium at the New Jersey Maneuverable Assets Training Equipment Site in Manchester for Christie's 13th town hall meeting of 2012.

Morristown High School has made a crisis team available to help its community deal with the death of 15-year-old student Lennon Baldwin, from Morris Township. Principal Linda Murphy said the school has been getting "a lot of support from the community for our staff and students."

N.J. Couple in Bahamas Crash Finally Get Medical Flight Home

For six days, Diandra Barreto and boyfriend Michael Gallinella were stuck in a Bahamas hospital: she with a dislocated leg, spine fractures and a lacerated liver, he with broken ribs, a punctured lung and a possible neck injury. On Friday night, with the help of a little diplomacy and a lot of North Jersey fund raising, they finally found their passage home in a $22,000 flight to Hackensack University Medical Center — paid for from the pockets of local businesses, friends, family and legislators — and a sizeable federal emergency loan. [NorthJersey.com]

Sex is everywhere, from music to movies to television, yet when it comes to sex education and reproductive health, there is a lack of credible information, said Cecilia Richards, president of Planned Parenthood. Richards spoke at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs to discuss "Keeping Politics Out of Women's Health."

Teachers Tweet and Students Skype as Classrooms Go Digital

Social media—those familiar Internet tools such as Facebook, Twitter, online blogs and YouTube—have fast become an hourly habit in many people's lives. Now, rather than shunning the once-perceived  obstacle to students' attention, educators across New Jersey are embracing social media as a way of engaging young people. [Asbury Park Press]

In a city known for its grease trucks, a fresh foods alternative is on the horizon for New Brunswick residents. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno announced the Jersey Food Access Initiative Tuesday afternoon at the future site of the New Brunswick Health and Wellness Plaza.

NY-NJ Port Authority to Boost Security with New Chief

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to consolidate security responsibility under one officer, officials said on Thursday, a move aimed at strengthening security and accountability across the agency. The new chief security officer will oversee security for the World Trade Center site and all of the Port Authority's airports, ports, bridges and tunnels and commuter PATH system. [Reuters]

Two East Orange brothers were arrested in the shooting of a Newark teen on March 25, authorities said. Members of the Newark Police Department's Fugitive Apprehension Team arrested Isaiah Swinton, 21, and Calvin Swinton, 20, and charged them with the teen's shooting Sunday.

Eleven-year-old Samantha "Sammie" Nguyen-Ortanez of the local Girl Scouts Troop No. 30430, an avid dancer, an aspiring actress and a fifth-grade student at Erial Elementary School. On March 25, Nguyen-Ortanez was struck and killed by an allegedly drunk driver in South Philadelphia.

Is Tim Tebow trying to take Mark Sanchez's job and invade his neighborhood? That's what some were saying when a report surface last weekend that the newest New York Jet was looking at a home in the upscale Trump National Golf Club community in Bedminister.

Lockdowns throughout Hackettstown were ending Monday at about 2 p.m., hours after a man called police claiming he had a gun in the woods near Hackettstown High School.

As any parent knows, age two can be tough, and advocates for healthcare reform are finding out just how tough the "terrible twos" can be. With the Supreme Court appearing split on the fate of the overhaul, grassroots advocates nonetheless turned out this week to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the federal Affordable Care Act.