The Borough of West Wildwood will be patrolled by North Wildwood Police Department officers for at least the next decade, or until the West Wildwood department is dissolved or merged with North Wildwood’s, under a contract approved by the borough and the city.The possibility of dissolution or merger was mentioned numerous times throughout the agreement.

A Philadelphia man 43 year old Aaron Watson who stole more than $1,000 in cash and a bottle of liquor from a Vineland liquor store while armed with a gun was sentenced Friday to 27 years in prison, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said. Watson was convicted Sept. 17 after a three-day trial on charges of robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon by a convicted person.Watson will not be eligible for parole for at least 19 years. He will be subject to five years of parole supervision upon release.

New Jersey and five other states want the regional power grid operator to keep price caps in place to prevent even larger spikes in electricity prices.According to the Press of Atlantic City New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy joined the governors of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Illinois and Virginia in writing to PJM Interconnection, asking the grid operator to extend a price cap that would prevent rates from “increasing exponentially in 2026.”The move comes after electricity rates increased by 20% this year in New Jersey, with an unspecified additional increase expected next year.The current price is capped at $329 per megawatt-day.

Wreaths Across America returns to Lake County this week. The annual wreath-laying event honoring veterans will be held at five county cemeteries at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13.

Mendocino Council of Governments is studying sea level rise impact on coastal roads. Submit feedback by Monday, February 16, 2026, at mendocinoSLRstudy.org for the survey and details.

Michael Andrew Coleman, 42, pleaded no contest this past September for the 2024 death of 77-year-old Roberta Ann McNeil-Wood in June of 2024, in Mendocino County. The plea, replacing a murder charge, was for voluntary manslaughter, first-degree burglary, and a weapon enhancement, resulting in a maximum 16-year sentence. Coleman began his sentence at the California Medical Facility on October 24, 2025, with earliest parole in June 2035. 

Tapestry Family Services in Ukiah has secured a $1 million, three-year grant from the Tow Foundation’s 2025 Innovation Fund to enhance youth mental health services and expand parent-child interaction therapy in remote Mendocino County. The funds will allow therapists, utilizing a new Sprinter van to visit rural families. 

Roberto Morfin, Lake County’s Supervising Deputy Probation Officer, won North Region Probation Employee of the Year at the 2025 Annual CPOC Awards. The award was presented by CPOC, an association of all 58 county law enforcement leaders.

A Charleston man pleaded guilty Wednesday to beating a woman to death with a vase in 2024. 23-year-old Izak Surface pleaded guilty in the death of 36-year-old Lora Farley, whose body was found in a home in the 1600 block of Chandler Drive on Jan. 18, 2024. Police said Farley had been struck in the head with a blunt force object at least three times. Surface was arrested on an unrelated warrant in the case three days after Farley’s body was found. Eyewitness News said , in that separate Jan. 3 incident, Surface allegedly pushed his then-74-year-old grandmother down a flight of stairs, breaking her pelvis. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted murder in that case. Surfaces faces 10-40 years in prison for the murder charge and 3-15 years in prison for the attempted murder charge when he is sentenced on March 11.

Michael Smith, previously convicted of killing a woman and dumping her body in a well, appeared in Kanawha County Court Monday for a trial on unrelated robbery charges. The state sought harsher penalties under a recidivist law, which could make him eligible for a life sentence if convicted of a qualifying felony.

The trial focused on a string of robberies from 1998 to 2004. Prosecutors presented fingerprints and photographs tying Smith to the crimes, while the defense argued the timeline was unclear. A motion to dismiss was denied. In the end, the jury found Smith responsible for the robberies. His sentencing is scheduled for February 10 at 10 a.m.