A complete list of the 36 New Jersey girls soccer players named to the watchlist for the 2018 High School All-American Game

Ganesh Gudar, 46, both works and lives at the group home in Monroe Township, the prosecutor's office said.

A caregiver at a group home in Monroe has been charged with sexually touching a woman in his care.

Ganesh Gudar 

Ganesh Gudar, 46, was arrested Aug. 24 and charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey announced Monday.

Gudar works and lives at the group home, which the prosecutor's office did not further identify.

Investigators believe the incident with a 62-year-old female resident occurred Aug. 21.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Monroe Police Sgt. Keith Saloom at 732-521-0222 ext. 178 or prosecutor's office Detective Allie Bitterman at 732-745-4401.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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It's the first year of a new playoff system. How will it all play out?

'This wasn't a diet,' Smith said. 'These results came from a total lifestyle change of eating solely plant-based foods.' The director, a Weight Watchers ambassador, was moved to lose weight after suffering a massive heart attack in February. He credits his vegan daughter with setting a good example.

Kevin Smith is singing the praises of his vegan "total lifestyle change" for helping him lose a grand total of 51 pounds in the last six months. 

Smith, 48, shared a weight loss update on Instagram Sunday. In a photo, the director appears noticeably slimmer, wearing a T-shirt that says "Fat Man" (for his "Fat Man on Batman" podcast) and his usual long jean shorts ("jorts," as he prefers to call them).

The writer and director also included a comparison of his weight, blood pressure and heart rate numbers from now and March 8. The numbers showed Smith's fat mass has decreased by 42 pounds. 

The director, who a Red Bank native who grew up in Highlands, suffered a massive "Widowmaker" heart attack during a break between two of his California shows on Feb. 26 and had to have a complete blockage of his left anterior descending artery cleared. A doctor told him to lose 50 pounds.

"Half a year later, I can report that I followed Doctor's orders: I started at 256 and now I weigh 205," Smith posted, besting the doctor's ask for one pound. "This is the lightest I've been since high school!" (Smith is an alumnus of Henry Hudson Regional High School in Highlands.)

Smith's May Showtime special, "Silent But Deadly" was filmed at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California immediately before he had the heart attack (yes, it had been named beforehand).

"This is the room where I almost died," said the director, standing in a backstage room for a segment appended to the end of the special.  

The New Jersey-bred director, who hosted his Vulgarthon event in Red Bank earlier this month, first rose to fame in 1994 with the success of his film "Clerks." He went on to make a series of films in his Jersey-set "View Askewniverse." In addition to working as a writer and director in film and TV, he brings his good-natured storytelling abilities to stage shows and functions as a kind of professional fanboy through podcasts and Comic-Con appearances. 

Smith attributed a large part of his weight loss success to rethinking the way he eats, with help from family. He became a vegetarian directly after the heart attack and in his Instagram post called his daughter, actress Harley Quinn Smith, 19, "the little vegan astronaut who explored this meatless/milkless galaxy ahead of me, leading by example."

"Since I never wanted to see the inside of a hospital ever again, I simply copied the Kid," he said. "So this wasn't a diet: these results came from a total lifestyle change of eating solely plant-based foods (which is tough because I hate vegetables)." 

But when a follower questioned eliminating dairy from his diet completely, Smith said he didn't miss dairy or meat. His perspective has changed markedly since March.

"But I can't guarantee that I'm going to become, like, a vegetable eater," he said at the time. 

Smith had already lost 80 pounds several years before he suffered the heart attack by cutting sugar. His first foray into further weight loss this year involved an all-potato diet -- what he called a "potato famine" -- one "mono diet" stage of a program from plant-based diet proponent Ray Cronise that Smith found after reading a book from Penn Jillette on how he lost 100 pounds. The strategy helped Smith lose an initial 20 pounds. 

Smith thanked Jillette and Cronise for their help, but said that as of late, Weight Watchers has helped him to track what he's eating by way of the company's app. In April, as the director began to lose a sizable amount of weight, he became a Weight Watchers ambassador. His recent status update doubled as an ad for the program. He hopes to drop a few more pounds.

"My hope now is I can slowly lose another 10 with #weightwatchers and get down to my birth weight of 195!" Smith mused. "But for now, I'm ecstatic to have reached this chunky milestone!"

Smith also thanked fans for their encouragement.

"Never underestimate the power of positive feedback: you folks telling me I looked better or healthier helped me stick with it," he said. "An encouraging word can really make a difference in someone's life and your compliments kept me going! And just look where I went."

Smith recently sought support for his "Hollyweed" TV pilot on the crowdfunding platform Rivit TV. While the show missed its fundraising target, Rivit and other partners are going to produce the next three episodes of the show's first season, which will be available for purchase on Rivit. Smith and Donnell Rawlings star in the show as owners of a Los Angeles marijuana dispensary. Jason Mewes, who plays Jay to Smith's Silent Bob, also appears in the show. Smith described the premise as "'Clerks' in a weed store." 

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

16 players from New Jersey are among the Top 150 recruits according to national ranking

The Wildwood Dog Beach is a dog-lover's paradise. Watch video

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon at the Jersey Shore: blue skies with occasional cloud cover to provide a break from the sun, air temperatures in the high 70s with the ocean a warm 75 degrees, and a light breeze.

The light brown sand was dotted with brightly colored beach blankets and umbrellas. And dog bowls.

Approximately two blocks of sandy canine bliss exist in Wildwood at the Glenwood Avenue beach, where dogs can run and play in the open sand and water.

While many dogs were happy to jump right into the ocean, a few first-timers were a bit hesitant to get their paws wet, unsure of the waves rushing toward them. And it wasn't just dog owners enjoying this section of pet-lover paradise, plenty of people without dogs of their own dug their toes in the sand here as well.

At the entrance of the Wildwoods Dog Beach, just off the Boardwalk, there is also a dog park, complete with a 25-foot-tall fire hydrant sculpture. Two separate fenced-in areas -- one for large breeds and the other for small -- offer play areas decorated with tunnels, platforms and shade areas for the pooches, and benches and a covered gazebo for their humans.

Many restaurants in the Wildwoods also welcome dogs in their outdoor seating areas, including PigDog Beach Bar, a new eatery offering up barbecue, cocktails and beer at Morey's Mariner's Pier, and MudHen Brewing Company, a new brewery located on Rio Grande Avenue.

In addition, several Wildwoods sightseeing charter boats and fishing/crabbing boats allow you to bring your dog on board, so you and your best friend can enjoy a day on the open sea together. Just don't forget to outfit your pup with a life jacket in case they get a little too excited and want to help you reel in that big catch.

And if one day at the beach just isn't enough, here's a list of hotels and motels in the Wildwoods willing to board both you and your dog:

The Wildwoods Dog Beach, open from 6 a.m. until dusk, welcomes licensed dogs from big to small. Dogs must remain leashed at all times and owners are responsible for cleaning up after their four-legged friends. The beach is equipped with water stations and plastic bags for pet waste. While dogs are limited to the dog beach from May through October, all of the beaches in the Wildwoods are open to dogs the rest of the year.

The Wildwoods Dog Beach was voted the nation's second-best dog friendly beach in 2016 in the 10Best Readers' Choice travel award contest, sponsored by USA TODAY.

The Wildwoods Convention Center also hosts the Boardwalk Kennel Club All-Breed Dog Show, held annually in January, with approximately 750 showdogs competing for the coveted Best in Show award.

For additional information about the Wildwoods, visit WildwoodsNJ.com or call 800-992-9732.

Lori M. Nichols may be reached at lnichols@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Instagram @photog_lori and Twitter @photoglori. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

See which New Jersey hospitals ranked highest in this high-profile survey.

Dave and Barbara Stone have closed the Perkins on Route 35 in Neptune, which they owned for decades

For Dave and Barbara Stone, 1 p.m. Sunday was the hardest moment of their lives.

That's when they closed the Perkins Restaurant in Neptune, a business they have owned together on Route 35 for decades.

The restaurant over the years developed a huge following made up of locals and people who regularly passed through.

Whether it was selling gift certificates or allowing school kids to sell candy outside, the Stones strengthened a dedication to family values by partnering often with schools, churches and other organizations.

"This is very hard right now," Barbara Stone said Tuesday, adding that the local Perkins has been "an institution" in Neptune since 1962.

"It's heartbreaking," she said.

Dave Stone, who turned 67 on Monday, got a job as a chef at the restaurant in 1970, cooking and managing until 1983.

That's when he became operating partner, co-owning the Perkins with Barbara.

The restaurant flourished for decades, thanks largely to the Stone's involvement in the community, and the restaurant's family-friendly flair.

Eugene Stewart began working there as a teenager, when Dave offered him his first job.

"Two years of employment, a lifetime of memories, meetings, informal gatherings and solicitations for some organization or another, Perkins was home away from home for me," Stewart wrote on Facebook.

"To Mr. and Mrs. Stone, the Perkins Family over the years, I thank you for times and lessons never to be forgotten," Stewart wrote.

Before closing, the family placed a sign in the restaurant thanking their customers.

"The people in Neptune have been wonderful," Dave Stone said. "It's just a wonderful town."

On Monday, the oval "Perkins" sign came down - a sad nod to everyone that the end had come.

"We were here seven days a week sometimes. I haven't had a vacation since my 60th birthday," Dave said. "It was time to close." 

Times had changed and it was getting "tough to turn a profit in this business," he said.

The Stones now plan to spend more time with their children and grandchildren.

"It was sad watching that sign come down yesterday," Dave said. "This restaurant meant a lot to a lot of people. It was the epitome of a family restaurant."

Perkins in Neptune closes tomorrow afternoon & it's truly a heartbreaking thing. So many memories so sad to see it close. pic.twitter.com/h6vWj52f8j

-- Kat[?] (@_kat95) August 26, 2018

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

They're deep, talented and experienced

The Princeton University football team averaged 38 points a game last season. This year they may score even more.

Last season the Princeton defense allowed 265 points in their 10 games. Much of that was due to an injury list, one that was longer than the grocery list for the Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe.

The season ended with a 5-5 overall record, 2-5 in the Ivy League. It also ended with optimism, and that was evident Friday morning when Princeton held its preseason Media Day inside the football stadium.

While this team has the potential to be among the best in the nine years Bob Surace has been head coach, he is quick to apply the brakes on any runaway train.

"I don't want to live in the potential world,'' he said, "but I do like the group we have. We have a lot of senior leaders, and the guys reported in the best shape we've ever been in.''

The team has so far worked out six days, with the season opener three weeks away against Butler in Indiana. The home opener is Sept. 22 against Monmouth, the Ivy League opener Sept. 29 at Columbia.

In a preseason media poll, Yale was voted as the team to beat, but four other teams received at least one vote to win it. That included Princeton, picked to finish second.

Senior defensive end Kurt Holuba, who missed nearly half of last season with a knee injury, is not about to concede the title.

John Lovett 

"We had a ton of injuries last year,'' he said, noting that younger guys had to step up, "so with the valuable experience (of returning replacements) I'm looking for that to pay off. Our offense has great tempo; it's the best I've ever played against. We have a lot of weapons. And we have strong leadership, on both sides of the ball.''

Offensively the Tigers have a quarterback who two years ago was the league's Offensive Player of the Year. John Lovett missed last year with offseason surgery, but he's in the best shape of his life - "I'm bigger, faster and stronger,'' he said. A dual threat, Lovett will throw more than he will pass, but like most quarterbacks Surace has developed, he can tuck it and go.

He will be throwing to the team's top three returning receivers, headlined by senior Jesper Horsted. First team All-Ivy, he caught 92 passes last season for an average of 122 yards per game. He and senior end Stephen Carlson combined for 25 touchdowns, and junior WR Tiger Bech finished with just under 600 yards in receptions.

Charlie Volker

When it's time to run, the top three backs are also back. Senior Charlie Volker, sophomore Collin Eaddy and junior Ryan Quigley ran for more than 1200 yards last season, providing the team an average of 132 yards a game on the ground.

If there is an unproven unit on the offense, it's the line.

"I feel good about our development,'' Offensive Coordinator Sean Gleeson said about the O-line. "I'm confident. I feel really good. We're settling for nothing but the best.'' Helping him feel that way is junior Andre Guest, 6-3, 305.

For as good as the offense appears to be, the defense might be even better. Depth, talent and experience define the front seven, with linebackers Mark Fossati, brothers Tom and James Johnson, John Orr and Jackson Simcox leading the way.

While the secondary remains relatively young, senior Ben Ellis and junior T.J. Floyd have the safety positions locked up, with senior Ben Novelio and soph C.J. Wall leading the way at the corners.

"The game is about depth,'' veteran Defensive Coordinator Steve Verbit said. "Experience and great knowledge means you're going to play with confidence. Up front, we have a lot of bodies where you need big bodies. And we're deep.''

Deep on both sides of the ball. Maybe deep enough to find a championship.

Sandy Masselli Jr., of Old Bridge, is accused of defrauding 26 New Jersey investors

A Middlesex County man was accused Tuesday of masterminding a million-dollar fraud from 26 investors in an online gambling company he started with his family.

But instead of putting the $1.3 million from those investors -- all New Jersey residents -- into the company, Sandy Masselli Jr. used it for personal expenses, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and the state Bureau of Securities announced in a statement.

Masselli, of Old Bridge, is accused of using the money on restaurant and hotel bills, vehicle leases, his son's George Washington University tuition and a $93,000 payment to a law firm that defended Masselli in a criminal case. (The criminal case, filed late last year in federal court, is ongoing.)

Also yesterday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a parallel action against Masselli in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, alleging his dealings violated several federal securities laws.

In the state filing, Masselli and associate Joseph Picco, of Colts Neck, sold the 26 investors shares of the companies Carlyle Gaming and Carlyle Ltd. between July 2012 and December 2017, the AG's office said.

The investors were told to send their payments to accounts for Masselli's related companies -- accounts that he controlled.

 "Masselli held himself out to investors as a savvy businessman with a long and successful track record in the online gambling industry," Grewal said. "Today's allegations make clear that this was nothing more than a million-dollar fraud, and that Masselli used investors' hard-earned money to finance his own extravagant lifestyle."

Grewal's office is seeking restitution for the allegedly defrauded investors.

Christopher W. Gerold, the Bureau of Securities chief, said Masselli and his associates' conduct was "a pure scam."

"They made untrue statements and omitted material facts in dealings with investors to defraud investors," he said. "Our action today sends a message that those who financially prey on New Jersey investors face serious consequences."

The Bureau encourages anyone exploring an investment opportunity to check this form. Anyone with issues or complaints about New Jersey financial professionals or investments can contact 1-866-466-8378 within the state or 973-504-3600 if calling from outside the state.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Today's weird fact: They go through 1.5 million plastic bags each year in the Rutgers dining halls alone. Watch video

With a pen stroke, Gov. Murphy could have imposed a 5-cent fee for plastic bags. Then he could have grabbed that money to wallpaper the cracks in his budget, just as legislative leadership had planned in the bill he vetoed Monday.

He also could have told all cities and towns with ordinances that ban bags entirely that they were out of luck - they'd have to do it the state's way now.

But the governor didn't go there. He rejected the bag fee because when it comes to environmental stewardship, he knows that half-measures are no longer adequate - especially as the federal government wages war on the planet - and that New Jersey needs a more "robust and comprehensive method" of reducing the ubiquitous scourge of plastic.

That leaves one option: Impose an outright ban of plastic bags and their straw-shaped cousins.

Given that our state goes through 4.4 billion bags annually, the logic is unassailable. They fill landfills, contaminate food chains, poison birds and marine life, threaten human health, choke storm drains, and decompose over centuries. All that from a product that is used once and almost never recycled. 

So Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, is going for broke. The bill he has introduced prohibits stores and food outlets from providing plastic carryout bags, polystyrene foam, and plastic straws (except for the disabled), making it the most ambitious legislation ever attempted out of the 13 failed measures floated since 2007.

Hearings next month will help shape the bill. But after hosting a joint meeting of the environmental committees Thursday in Toms River, where he heard from environmentalists, scientists, and industry reps, Smith favors the hybrid model used in California: ban plastic, and put a fee on paper bags.

Now we find out whether other lawmakers are ready to follow the science, because it tells a dire story.

A plastic bag fee? No, a legislative money-grab | Editorial

"The public believes that the worst aspect of plastic is that there are continents of plastic in the middle of our oceans, killing wildlife," Smith said. "And that's a terrible reality. But the real problem is this stuff is going to kill you. These bags break down into microplastic particles, they're eaten by marine life, and they enter the human food chain. And our filtration and waste water systems aren't designed to remove it. So it's time to be proactive."

California and Hawaii have statewide bans. New York and others are likely to follow. Cities throughout the U.S. have their own policies.

It is appropriate that New Jersey stay ahead of the curve, because the groundswell is undeniable: As the fee-structure bill sat on the governor's desk for two months, towns rushed to adopt bans, fearing they would be preempted. The towns that currently have bans cover the spectrum, from blue bastions of Jersey City and Hoboken to red shore communities of Stone Harbor and Harvey Cedars.

The plastic bag scourge: Time to declare war | Editorial

A fee model works in many places, and we applaud that effort. But evidence is emerging that its effects are temporary - that after a plunge in bag circulation, people get comfortable with paying the nickel or dime.

"Towns learn that fees don't always change behavior," said Doug O'Malley of Environment New Jersey. "And since fees create a piggy bank that the state can raid, it's an incentive to not move toward a ban."

Here's all the incentive we need: Global annual plastics production was 311 million tons in 2015, and that number will quadruple by 2050, according to Dr. Serpil Guran of Rutgers. Up to 12 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. By 2050, the plastic in the world's oceans will exceed the mass of fish.

Put another way, we're past the tipping point. We need an immediate, authentic cultural change - not a piecemeal effort with a money grab attached - and it takes a Legislature with a spine to enforce it.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

According to its Trulia listing, the taxes on the property are $39,399,30.

In this week's "Sold!" property, we feature a home in Colts Neck home with 7,522 square feet of living space.

The house sold for $2,920,000 in March. According to its Trulia listing, the taxes on the property are $39,399,30.

The home features six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a wine cellar and a movie theater. The house was assessed at $2,269,700.

The median sale price for homes in the area is $710,000.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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How N.J. spends the summer.

Colorful beach umbrellas line the eight miles of shoreline as the laughter of families mixes with the sound of waves and squawking of seagulls.

On the boardwalk, the smell of pizza fills the air, while the screams of children on amusement rides bring a smile to the faces of their parents watching from afar.

These are the sights and sounds of a typical summer day in Ocean City.

Known as "America's Greatest Family Resort," this shore town was officially founded as a camp and resort town in the late 19th century, according to oceancityvacation.com, and now brings in over 1 million visitors during the peak season.

The 2.5 miles of boardwalk offer plenty of food and fun for families. Ocean City staples like Manco & Manco Pizza and Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard attract lines of customers all day long.

Also on the boardwalk are two amusement parks, a water park, miniature golf and a variety of other restaurants and shops. 

The Ocean City Music Pier, located at the Boardwalk at Moorlyn Terrace, plays host to several national musical acts, as well as local performances during the summer.   

Events such as the Doo Dah Parade, Night in Venice, the Ocean City Baby Parade and the Miss New Jersey Pageant are also highlights during the year. 

Tim Hawk may be reached at thawk@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Instagram @photog_hawk and Twitter @photogthawk. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

Which are the top games to watch this weekend?

From breakout teams to perennial powers vying for more hardware, see the biggest boys soccer storylines entering this season.

All-State and All-Group girls soccer players returning in 2018

They are asking anyone with information to come forward.

Police are investigating the toppling of four headstones at a Jewish cemetery over the weekend.

The headstones at Congregation Agudath Achim Cemetery likely occurred between Saturday morning and Sunday morning, the Freehold Township police said in a news release.

No other acts of vandalism were reported at the cemetery, on Route 33-Business behind the Freehold Raceway Mall. But the incident drew the attention of the Anti-Defamation League's New York/New Jersey office.

We are disturbed by apparent vandalism in a #NJ Jewish cemetery where four headstones were allegedly knocked over this past weekend. We have reached out to local law enforcement & encourage anyone with information to contact 732-462-7500 or 732-294-2110 https://t.co/hp1juRlcyG

-- ADL New York / New Jersey (@ADL_NYNJ) August 29, 2018

Police ask anyone with information to call them at 732-462-7500 or 732-294-2110.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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From opening day on Thursday right through to two special Turkey Day matchups, here are 50 of the H.S. football games we are particularly excited to see in 2018.

The hard working folks that kept New Jersey going.

It's a safe bet that, good or bad, everyone remembers their first job.

Some folks have had the good fortune to enjoy working for one employer for their entire career, and then there are people like me who have had so many jobs that there's a really long pause after the question 'And what do YOU do?'

But whether you had only a handful of employers or were on your way to working for everyone in New Jersey, you'll likely enjoy this gallery of the hard working people of New Jersey over the years.

Folks in fields like education, law enforcement and public safety will be covered in different galleries, so keep an eye out for them in the future.

And here are links to more galleries you'll enjoy.

Vintage photos of people hard at work in N.J.

Vintage photos of jobs and workers in N.J.

Vintage photos of working people in N.J.

Greg Hatala may be reached at greghatalagalleries@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

Here's your Labor Day 2018 weekend N.J. weather forecast, day by day. See what the Labor Day weekend weather will be at the Jersey Shore and all throughout New Jersey.