Democratic presidential contenders are heading to a critical stage of the primary race after Iowa and New Hampshire showed a sharply divided party that is undecided on who is best placed to face President TrumpDonald John TrumpChanges in policies, not personalities, will improve perception of corruption in the US Union leader: Bloomberg can go all the way Pelosi: 'I'm not counting Joe Biden out' MORE in November.

Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersWarren highlights work with Obama, Harry Reid in new Nevada ad Union leader: Bloomberg can go all the way Biden on Univision: Deporting 3 million 'was a big mistake' MORE (I-Vt.) and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegWill Bernie have to turn on his bros? Democratic rivals sharpen attacks as Bloomberg rises Now's a time to take a look at who's 'blooming' among Democrats MORE have emerged as the two leaders after strong showings in the Hawkeye and Granite states, but they face a much different electorate in the next contests in Nevada and South Carolina.

While polls over the past few months have consistently shown former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenWarren highlights work with Obama, Harry Reid in new Nevada ad Biden on Univision: Deporting 3 million 'was a big mistake' Pelosi: 'I'm not counting Joe Biden out' MORE leading in South Carolina, and near the top in Nevada, much of the landscape has changed.

The biggest prize, however, will come on Super Tuesday on March 3,when about a third of all pledged delegates will be allocated,with the potential to shake up the race.

Here are what polls show in each of the 15 states and territories on Super Tuesday:

Alabama:Theres a dearth of polling in Alabama by mainstream pollsters so far.

Fifty-two pledged delegates are up for grabs in the Yellowhammer State.

American Samoa:There have been no polls conducted for the American Samoa caucuses. The contest will allocate six pledged delegates

Arkansas:Former New York City Mayor Michael BloombergMichael Rubens BloombergUnion leader: Bloomberg can go all the way Democratic rivals sharpen attacks as Bloomberg rises A Trump supporter's defense of Michael Bloomberg MORE, who skipped the four early contests to compete in Super Tuesday, has the narrowest of leads in the only poll conducted in Arkansas by Talk Business and PoliticsHendrix College Poll,which was released Tuesday. Bloomberg has a 1-point edge over Biden and leads Sanders and Buttigieg by just 4 points.

Bloomberg is buoyed in the poll by a strong lead among seniors, while Biden has a double-digit edge among African Americans, setting up a clash of two traditional Democratic bases.

Arkansas will allocate 31 pledged delegates in its primary.

California:If Super Tuesday is the crown of the primary contest, then California is most certainly its jewel, with a whopping 415 pledged delegates at stake.

The latest poll, which was conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies for the Los Angeles Timesin January, shows Sanders with a 6-point lead in California, ahead of Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenWarren highlights work with Obama, Harry Reid in new Nevada ad Biden on Univision: Deporting 3 million 'was a big mistake' Democratic rivals sharpen attacks as Bloomberg rises MORE (Mass.).

Colorado:Colorado also has not seen a lot of polls for its presidential primary, which will dole out 67 pledged delegates.

Maine:Polling has also been scarce for the Pine Tree State, whose primary will award 24 pledged delegates.

Massachusetts:Massachusetts will hand out 91 pledged delegates.

The most recent poll by the firm Falchuk & DiNatale released by FiveThirtyEightin January shows Warren leading Biden by 7 points.

Minnesota:No polls have been conductedthis yearin the Gopher State, which will allocate 75 pledged delegates.

North Carolina:Atraditional general election swing state, North Carolina has seen more polling than other Super Tuesday battlegrounds.

Biden had maintained a shrinking lead for months, but Sanders appeared to take over in a survey out Wednesday. A High Point University poll found that Sanders eclipsed Biden with 25 percent support from registered Democratic voters, compared with 19 percent for the former vice president in a new high point for the Vermont senator.

North Carolinas primary will award 110 pledged delegates.

Oklahoma:No recent polling has come out in a state that will hand out 37 pledged delegates.

Tennessee:No recentpolls have been conducted in Tennessees primary. Sixty-four pledged delegates are up for grabs in the Volunteer State.

Texas:Texas, which will grant the second-highest delegate haul of Super Tuesday, is expected to be hard-fought territory in March.

Biden has led in the polls in the Lone Star State, opening up a 16-point lead in a January pollby the University of Texas at Tyler. However, Bloomberg has crept into third place in Texas after a multimillion dollar ad blitz to gain ground there.

Texas will allocate 228 pledged delegates on Super Tuesday.

Utah:Only one poll has been conducted in Utah, where 29 pledged delegates are at stake. A Suffolk University-Salt Lake Tribune survey from January found Sanders with a 13-point lead in the state.

Vermont:No Democratic primary polls have been conducted in Vermont, where 16 pledged delegates are up for grabs.

Virginia:Biden has held double-digit leads in the small handful of polls that have been conducted in Virginia. The traditionally more moderate state shouldbe friendly territory for the former vice president, though no polls have been conducted in Old Dominion since September.

Virginias primary will allocate 99 pledged delegates.

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State attorneys general have filed an unprecedented number of lawsuits against the Trump administration, as Democratic-led states exercise new levers of power to block some of President TrumpDonald John TrumpChanges in policies, not personalities, will improve perception of corruption in the US Union leader: Bloomberg can go all the way Pelosi: 'I'm not counting Joe Biden out' MOREs most controversial initiatives.

States have formed coalitions to file 103 multi-state suits against the administration in its first three years, according to data compiled by Paul Nolette, a political scientist at Marquette University. The vast majority of those suits, 96, have been led by Democratic attorneys general.

By contrast, states filed 78 multi-state suits in the eight years ofPresident Obamas administration, and 76 multi-state suits during President George W. Bushs eight years in office. Democratic attorneys general sued Trump 40 times in his first year in office alone, more lawsuits than have ever been filed against an administration in a single year.

Every time this guy breaks the law, we take him to court, said Xavier BecerraXavier BecerraStates sue Trump administration at record pace California has a privacy law, but will companies comply? Judge approves merger between T-Mobile, Sprint MORE (D), Californias attorney general who has led 31 suits and been party to 25 others. Joining with other states to file suit adds strength, it certainly adds value, and it shows unity. It demonstrates that the unlawful action that the Trump administration is looking to take impacts more than just one state.

The attorneys general have sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more than any other agency in government. All told, the EPA has faced 31 lawsuits over proposals to roll back Obama-era environmental laws or to implement new rules. States have sued the Department of Health and Human Services and the Interior Department about a dozen times each.

Nolette said the new pattern of multi-state legal actions are part of a trend that began during the Obama administration, when Republican-led states began suing at a faster clip. The Obama administration was sued 53 times during his second term in office, twice as many suits as during his first term.

It has much less to do with the Trump administration itself than it does with the attorneys general and how theyve realized how effective their lawsuits are and how many incentives they have to bring these lawsuits in the first place, Nolette said. This is a more permanent part of the landscape now.

The Republican-led suits revolved around what the party saw as Obamas excessive reliance on executive orders once the GOP took control of Congress. Ken Paxton (R), Texass attorney general, said there is a big difference between the suits he joined against the Obama administration and the ones Democrats are filing against the Trump team.

These lawsuits against the Trump administration are just an attempt to implement policies through the courts that voters have rejected at the ballot box, Paxton said. The lawsuits attorneys general had to file against the Obama administration were about preserving our constitution and defending the rule of law, while these suits against the Trump administration are based on nothing more than policy disagreements and political posturing.

But the courts disagree. Democratic attorneys general have won 80 percent of the cases that have come to a conclusion, Nolette found, while about a third are still pending before judges at various levels. By contrast, Republicans were successful in about 60 percent of their suits against the Obama administration.

Thats a very high success rate, much higher than most litigants, actually. Even if they ultimately lose, theres a real benefit to the lawsuit, Nolette said. Theres pretty much all upside and not much downside to bringing these suits.

Even in cases the Trump administration wins, the lawsuits can move policy. A suit challenging the constitutionality of Trumps travel ban delayed implementation for years and rallied the Democratic base. The Trump administration had to revise the travel ban before the Supreme Court ultimately allowed it to go into effect.

Observers expect a new normal, regardless of whether President Trump wins a second term in November. Bruce Mehlman, a lobbyist in Washington, said the lawsuits are a function of what is becoming a much broader political fight that extends beyond the Beltway.

This is broader than the Trump era. This reflects an age of empowerment where everybody from activists to CEOs to mayors to attorneys general feel empowered to drive policy, block things they dont like and champion their own priorities, Mehlman said. Its yet one more arena for policy advocates. Twenty years ago, the fight was in Washington. Today, the fight is in Washington, state capitals, agencies implementing the laws and the courts.

The Democratic attorneys general have built something of a relationship in recent years, coordinating efforts on conference calls and at the staff level.

Weve established pretty strong relationships with many of our attorney colleagues, because theyve worked together so much, Becerra said in an interview. Usually, we find partners who are interested in working on the same issue.

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With more than a third of all pledged delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday, the race for the Democratic presidential nomination is sure to steal the spotlight during the March 3 primaries.

But in Alabama, North Carolina and Texas, there are a handful of nominating contests that will be crucial to determining control of the Senate.

Here are the Senate primaries to watch on Super Tuesday:

Alabamas Republican primary

More than half a dozen Republicans are vying for their partys nomination to take on Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) in November, but leading the pack is former Attorney General Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsBarr back on the hot seat McCabe: 'I don't think I will ever be free of this president and his maniacal rage' DOJ won't charge former FBI Deputy Director McCabe MORE, whos looking to take his seat back after it flipped for Jones in 2017.

Former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Bradley ByrneBradley Roberts ByrneThe Hill's Campaign Report: Rising Klobuchar, Buttigieg face test in diverse states Sessions in close race for Alabama GOP Senate nomination: poll Three Senate primaries to watch on Super Tuesday MORE (R-Ala.) present perhaps the most significant primary challenge to Sessions, who was forced out as attorney general in 2018 amid simmering tensions with President TrumpDonald John TrumpChanges in policies, not personalities, will improve perception of corruption in the US Union leader: Bloomberg can go all the way Pelosi: 'I'm not counting Joe Biden out' MORE over his decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russias efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. And the race was thrown a curveball last summer when Roy MooreRoy Stewart MooreThe Hill's Campaign Report: Rising Klobuchar, Buttigieg face test in diverse states Sessions in close race for Alabama GOP Senate nomination: poll Three Senate primaries to watch on Super Tuesday MORE, the former state Supreme Court chief justice, jumped into the race.

Moore was the Republican nominee in the 2017 special election to replace Sessions. But his campaign was handed a loss after allegations emerged that he had sexually assaulted and pursued romantic relationships with teenage girls decades ago, when he was in his 30s.

The eventual nominee will go on to challenge Jones in the November general election. The Alabama Democrat is widely considered to be the most vulnerable senator up for reelection this year, and a challenge from a well-funded, well-known Republican like Sessions could sound a death knell for Joness Senate career.

For now, there is evidence that the GOP primary could be a tight one. Internal polling from Byrnes campaign released on Tuesday shows a closer race than previously thought. Sessions led the pack at 31 percent, while Byrne and Tuberville were locked in a statistical tie, taking 26 percent and 24 percent support, respectively.

North Carolinas Democratic primary

The Democratic Senate primary in North Carolina has largely unfolded as a two-way race between former state Sen. Cal Cunningham and state Sen. Erica Smith.

Cunningham has the backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and has repeatedly outraised his opponents, raking in more than $1.6 million in the last three months of 2019. Smith, by comparison, raised just under $80,000.

But Cunninghams fundraising advantage and institutional backing hasnt translated into an outsize lead in the polls. What little public polling there is in the primary shows a tight race between the two.

One Fox News survey released in November showed Smith leading her top rival 18 percent to 13 percent. Trevor Fuller, a former chairman of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, received 10 percent support in that poll.

More recent surveys from the left-leaning Public Policy Polling, however, show Cunningham with a widening lead. One poll from thefirm in January put him ahead of Smith by a 10-point margin, and another one released last week showed him ahead by nearly 20 points.

Adding to the intrigue of the race is the involvement of Faith and Power PAC, an outside group with apparent ties to Republicans that is spending upwards of $1 million on advertisements supportive of Smiths Senate bid.

Whoever emerges victorious from the March 3 primary will take on Sen. Thom TillisThomas (Thom) Roland TillisTrump pick for Fed seat takes bipartisan fire Three Senate primaries to watch on Super Tuesday Coronavirus poses risks for Trump in 2020 MORE (R-N.C.) in November. Tillis, like Jones, is among the most vulnerable senators facing reelection in 2020. He narrowly avoided a primary challenge of his own late last year when his chief challenger, businessman Garland Tucker, dropped out of the race amid financial strains.

Tillis has the backing of President Trump and may benefit from high Republican turnout in the general election. But Democrats have grown optimistic in North Carolina, as demographic changes and an influx of new residents from out of state have put the Tar Heel State in play.

Texass Democratic primary

Former Rep. Beto ORourke (D-Texas) brought Democrats closer than theyve been in years to picking up a Senate seat in Texas in 2018, when he narrowly lost to Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzCruz 'impresses' his daughter with Chris Evans meeting Three Senate primaries to watch on Super Tuesday The advantage of paying for medical care directly MORE (R-Texas). Now, a dozen candidates, encouraged by ORourkes performance, are hoping to seize on the states changing political landscape and electoral clout to oust Sen. John CornynJohn CornynBooker, Cornyn introduce bill to fund school nutrition programs Three Senate primaries to watch on Super Tuesday Democrats seek to drive wedge between Trump, GOP on whistleblowers MORE (R-Texas).

Among the top contenders for the Democratic Senate nomination are MJ Hegar, state Sen. Royce West and Annie Garcia, according to a recent Dallas Morning NewsUniversity of Texas at Tyler poll. But no candidate has managed to break away from the rest of the pack, and other candidates, like Cristina Tzintzn Ramirez, have stepped up their efforts in recent weeks.

Hegar, perhaps the most high-profile candidate in the race, has run a campaign geared more toward the general election against Cornyn. She has significantly outraised her rivals, bringing in nearly $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, and has the endorsement of the DSCC.

But Hegar was snubbed this week by The Dallas Morning Newss editorial board, which threw its recommendation behind West and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards.

Cornyn, however, may prove difficult for Democrats to take down in November. The three-term incumbent has a massive financial advantage over his potential Democratic challengers, raking in roughly $2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 and finishing the year with more than $12.1 million in the bank.

But Democrats say that, unlike Cruz, few Texans know who Cornyn is, giving them a potential opening this year. A University of TexasTexas Tribune poll released in November showed Cornyn with a 35 percent approval rating. Nearly a third of respondents 31 percent said they either had a neutral opinion of the senator or no opinion at all.

--Updated at 10:40 a.m.

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Red-lettered signs warning of "BLASTING" began appearing over the past week at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a remote desert region in southwestern Arizona bordered by Mexico to the south and a Native American reservation to the east.

Crews have been blasting the hillside while excavators and backhoes clear a path for the towering sections of border wall fast-tracked by the Trump administration a pace that has environmental groups worried that sacred burial sites and ancestral lands are at risk of being irreversibly harmed.

Since 1976, the 516-square-mile park home to more than two dozen unique species of cactus and countless varieties of wildlife has been recognized as a UNESCO ecological preserve worth conserving.

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"This is a new low even for the Trump administration," said Laiken Jordahl, a borderlands campaigner for the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona who has been documenting the altered landscape.

"They're moving forward with complete disregard of sacred sites and indigenous sovereignty," Jordahl said Wednesday.

The controlled blasting, which has taken place in a section of the park known as Monument Hill, is expected to continue intermittently through the end of February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. The agency added that it will "continue to have an environmental monitor present during these activities as well as on-going clearing activities." The start of the blasting was first reported by The Intercept.

With this latest spurt in construction, Jordahl and others say they're concerned by how the federal government has gone about building the wall without any consultation with the Tohono O'odham Nation, a federally recognized tribe that has land and members on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

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The Trump administration has used federal waivers, including bypassing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, to push the project ahead.

Jordahl said that despite lawsuits to halt the actions, the process involving Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has been made easier precisely because the area is federally controlled land.

"It's such a sensitive area environmentally, and it's heartbreaking to see that what's happening is because the government controls it because it's so fragile," he said. "It's become a true desecration of indigenous land."

Since August, crews have been replacing fencing with a steel bollard wall design.

Rep. Ral Grijalva, D-Ariz., whose district includes the tribe's reservation, toured the area last month and highlighted in a video tweeted Sunday that Monument Hill is a resting place for Apache warriors who once did battle with members of the Tohono O'odham Nation. In addition, activists have shared images on social media of ancient saguaro cacti, many hundreds of years old, either sawed in half or flattened.

Bulldozing is also occurring at the park's Quitobaquito Springs, a natural source of water for the tribe near where artifacts and human bone fragments have been found, Grijalva said.

"The Trump Administration is bulldozing through sacred sites to act on a campaign talking point, no matter the cost to the people of Southern Arizona," he told NBC News in a statement. "This destruction of the cultural heritage of the Tohono O'odham people for the purpose of building a monument to his racist policies is irreparable."

Grijalva said he is working with the Tohono O'odham Nation to demand that the Department of Homeland Security "stop this assault on sacred sites."

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The federal waivers it requested last year were vague in describing the locations for the border wall project and how many miles were needed, according to The Associated Press, although the Center for Biological Diversity estimated that the plans include 100 miles in Arizona and California along the southern border.

The wall's construction has become a central theme of President Donald Trump's immigration policy. During his State of the Union speech last week, he said more than 500 miles of barriers would be up by early next year.

His pledge hasn't come without a fight from property owners opposed to surrendering their lands to the federal government.

Last fall, the administration began a new approach preparing to go through federal courts for permission to take over private lands. The move followed Trump's declaration a year ago of a national emergency along the border, a controversial executive action to free up billions of dollars to fund new border wall projects.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which borders Mexico for 30 miles, is among the places that have come under scrutiny.

The park was once considered one of the most dangerous in the U.S., favored by drug smugglers, officials said. In 2002, a park ranger was fatally shot while trying to apprehend two people who were crossing illegally. But with the number of illegal crossings down in recent years, a part of the park that was once closed to the public was reopened in 2015.

The Tohono O'odham Nation says it is troubled over the future of other sacred sites along the border, including at Las Playas, where a roadway could be built near known ancestral burial grounds harboring artifacts dating back 10,000 years.

Ned Norris Jr., the chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation, told The Arizona Republic of Phoenix in January that he wants "buffer zones" around those sensitive areas.

"How would you feel if someone brought a bulldozer to your family graveyard and started uprooting the graves there?" he asked. "That is the relationship, the significance, that is the impact that we see happening here in that way."

Erik Ortiz is a staff writer forNBC News focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.

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For Mike Dyer, a pleasant Sunday morning bike ride with friends through the Calabasas hillside ended in a nightmare.

The group saw a helicopter pass overhead and remarked to each other that it seemed to be flying too low and too fast through the low clouds that obscured the landscape. Then they heard the thud and sawa column of smoke rising in the mist.

Dyer, who just released video he took of the accident, said he only learned who the victims were when he left the trail.

I was more or less scatter brained, and we kept talking about what we saw, he told Bike Magazine. It didnt hit me until I got to the parking lot. There was a reporter in the lot gathering equipment who asked us if we were at the scene.

He interviewed me and filmed me, and mid-interview, he dropped the bomb and told me that Kobe Bryant was on that helicopter. My first question was whether there were any children or families on board. He nodded, and thats when I lost it. I had to drive home. All I knew was that I wanted to go hug my 6-year-old son and my wife and tell them I loved them.

Health experts say witnesses to tragedy, such as Dyer, often suffer the consequences of post traumatic stress trouble sleeping, obsessive thoughts and fluctuating emotions, including shock, helplessness, fear and anger. Witnesses may even feel guilt that they survived when they have witnessed the death of another, even a stranger.

Even people far from the site of tragedy may be stressed when theyview images online, especially if they see repeated images of the same event. Experts say people who find their emotions getting out of control should limit exposure to images or sounds that could be triggers. Thats something Dyer can understand.

Taking it day by day, he told the magazine when asked how he was coping. Today, I was in the yard and heard helicopters flying over. Every time, I look up. I cant turn on the TV. Sam [his biking companion] and I talk a lot about it. My brains kind of noodled on the whole thing. For me, its not so much the Kobe Bryant story, but the collective loss of lifethe tragedy of losing children and parents.

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According to The Hill, two well-known political veterans got into it quite the spat this week.

A bombastic James Carville fired back at Sen. Bernie Sanders for calling him a political hack, calling the self-described democratic socialist a communist, according to The Hill.

The back and forth follows a week in which Carville has repeatedly sounded the alarm about a potential Sanders match-up against President Trump in November, calling the scenario the end of days for the Democratic Party while referring to Sanders supporters as a cult.

Sanders, an independent running as a democrat, returned fire during an interview with CNNs Anderson Cooper, arguing that political hack Carville represents the establishment his campaign is running against, The Hill noted.

James, in all due respect, is a political hack, Sanders told Cooper. We are taking on Trump, the Republican establishment, Carville and the Democratic establishment. But at the end of the day, the grass-roots movement that we are putting together of young people, of working people, of people of color want real change.

Carville, who worked as a campaign strategist for former President Bill Clinton, escalated the feud Thursday on Snapchat with former CNN reporter Peter Hamby, The Hill reported.

Last night on CNN, Bernie Sanders called me a political hack, Carville said. Thats exactly who the f- I am! I am a political hack! I am not an ideologue. I am not a purist. He thinks its a pejorative. I kind of like it! At least Im not a communist.

Trump also recently referred to Sanders as a communist.

Sanders has repeatedly pointed out: He is not a communist.

Sanders campaign yesterday announced that Sen. Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch will serve as Vermont state co-chairmen as the campaign charges toward the March 3 primary.

The Vermont state co-chairmen were announced as part of a national Bernie 2020 rollout of more than 50 co-leaders nationwide following Sanders victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

Leahy and Welch have endorsed Sanders, obviously.

Since the campaign launched, Vermont volunteers have already hosted nearly 130 events across the state, including barnstorms, phone banks and canvasses, according to his campaign.

The states leading government reform group, VPIRG, has called on legislators to establish a Code of Ethics in state law and make it enforceable by an independent Ethics Commission.

Earlier this year, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group criticized the lack of authority given the current Ethics Commission, and the commissions efforts to conceal some of its earlier work from the public.

The Senate Government Operations Committee unanimously passed a bill to put in motion a plan to strengthen the states approach to ethics.

Its a painfully slow process but it looks like legislative leaders are finally on a path toward improving our anemic state ethics program, said Paul Burns, executive director of VPIRG.

Earlier this week, Vermonts six statewide elected officials sent a letter to the Chairs of the Senate and House Committees on Government Operations, urging them to continue working this session toward a Code of Ethics for public servants that is backed by the force of law. The statewide officials, including Gov. Phil Scott, noted that putting the Code of Ethics in Vermont law would provide public servants with direction and clarity on numerous issues they regularly face.

However, according to VPIRG, on Jan. 28, the Department of Human Resources informed the director of the State Ethics Commission that it had determined that no further action is warranted or necessary in response to a formal complaint lodged by VPIRG late last year.

The complaint by VPIRG alleged that the Republican governor has a conflict of interest because he has an ongoing financial interest in DuBois Construction that contracts with the state, and as governor, he is the chief executive of the state.

It is outrageous that a department of the Scott administration can dismiss without consideration a complaint alleging ethical conflicts by (the governor), said Burns. Im afraid what we have now is an administrative cover-up of a clear conflict of interest that had already been identified by the State Ethics Commission.

The states Agency of Agriculture sent out a Valentine to the state on Friday, reminding all Vermonters to spread the love for Vermonts farmers.

A time for us to express our love and appreciation for the people who brighten our lives. We got to thinking about how much happiness Vermont farmers bring to us, the post read.

The list isnt off-base:

Farmers produce the milk that makes Vermonts award-winning cheeses, butter, ice cream and yogurt.

Farmers open their land to recreation including snowmobiling, hiking and hunting.

Farmers provide us with fresh produce every day of the year.

Farmers make sure we never run out of maple creemees.

Farmers produce some of sweetest things in life Vermont maple and honey.

Farmers keep us warm with wool and fiber.

Farmers grow the grains for our bread and award-winning brews.

Farmers fill our freezers with meat.

Farmers grow the grapes for Vermonts wines.

Farmers make our fairs and field days fun.

Farmers open their farms and homes to visitors.

Farmers teach us to work hard and volunteer.

Farmers will pull you out of ditch when you get stuck.

Farmers remind us to pause and embrace the simple things in life.

We assume there are 14 because Valentines Day is on the fourteenth of the month? Or one reason per county? That would be Vermont Love.

What do Vermonters think about the coming election? What are the key issues on their minds?

For the third consecutive year, Vermont PBS and VPR are collaborating on three statewide public opinion surveys that will provide valuable insight into the minds of Vermonters in the 2020 presidential election year.

The results of the first poll will be released on Feb. 18, two weeks ahead of Town Meeting Day, Vermonts presidential primary and Super Tuesday, when 14 states and approximately one-third of the countrys voters participate in presidential primaries.

The polls are being conducted by Braun Research under the direction of Rich Clark, professor of political science at Castleton University and the former director of the Castleton Polling Institute.

Vermont PBS and VPR will publish the full results, methodology and appendices at a joint website, which will be available via VPR.org.

VPRs Morning Edition will explore the poll results with Clark in a live broadcast from Red Hen Bakery & Cafe in Middlesex that morning from 6:30-9 a.m. Additionally, VPR and Vermont PBS will provide extensive broadcast and digital coverage and analysis of the polling results throughout the week.

Two additional polls are scheduled for summer and fall.

This week, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets recognized seven Vermont school communities and two early child care organizations with important grants to support their local food programming.

The Vermont Farm to School and Childcare Grant Program strives to improve the education and health of Vermonts students, and positively impact the local economy, by providing Vermont schools and childcare programs with technical and financial assistance to develop and execute farm to school and farm to child care programs. These programs integrate fresh, healthy, locally grown foods and nutrition education into Vermonts cafeterias, classrooms and communities.

The programs are: Grafton and Westminster schools ($15,000); Shrewsbury Mountain School ($15,000); Williamstown schools ($15,000); Braintree elementary ($15,000); Northshire Day School in Bennington ($15,000); Stockbridge and Rochesters schools ($20,000); and Northeast Kingdom Community Action Head Start ($15,000).

Clean Economy Act offered

This week the Clean Economy Act of 2020 was introduced in Congress.

Leahy joined Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat, and other U.S. senators in introducing the the bill aimed at empowering the Environmental Protection Agency to set a national goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050.

The bill would also promote American competitiveness and healthier communities, while fostering a fair and growing economy.

The EPA net-zero by 2050 plan prioritizes infrastructure investments that are more resilient to a changing climate. Additionally, the EPA plans to build up existing state, local and private sector climate programs. While doing so, this act addresses the cumulative environmental effects in economically distressed communities, communities of color and indigenous communities.

Vermont Conservation Voters presented its Environmental Rising Star Award to Sen. Andrew Perchlik, of Washington County District, and two other first-term legislators who have become leaders on environmental issues: Rep. Kathleen James, of Manchester Center, and Rep. Mari Cordes, of Lincoln.

The awards were presented at VCVs 2020 Environmental Common Agenda Reception at the State House last week, where VCV revealed its guide to this years top legislative priorities for the environment.

According to the VCV news release, Perchlik has a long history of environmental leadership, working at several small nonprofit environmental and community service organizations before getting a job focused on clean energy policy at the Vermont Public Service Department. His work at the PSD included coordinating renewable energy business leaders in the creation of Renewable Energy Vermont. He was REVs executive director for its first 10 years.

In 2010 he became the director of the restructured Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund, managing several programs that helped build the strong clean energy industry sector Vermont enjoys today.

Get ready to be counted. Between March 12-20, invitations to participate in the 2020 Census will start arriving to Vermont households and across the country.

This invitation will include instructions on how to respond to the 2020 Census online or by phone. By April 1, most households will have received an invitation delivered either by mail or by a census taker. In areas of the country that are less likely to respond online, a paper questionnaire will be included in the initial mailing to households. Reminder mailings will be sent to households that do not respond, and in the fourth mailing every household that has not yet responded will receive a paper questionnaire.

March 12-20: Initial invitations to respond online and by phone will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Areas that are less likely to respond online will receive a paper questionnaire along with the invitation to respond online or over the phone.

March 16-24: Reminder letters will be delivered.

March 26-April 3: Reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not responded.

April 8-16: Reminder letters and paper questionnaires will be delivered to remaining households that have not responded.

April 20-27: Final reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not yet responded before census takers follow up in person.

May 13-July 31: If a household does not respond to any of the invitations, a census taker will follow up in person.

To learn more about the Census in Vermont, watch this weeks Into the Issues with Editor Steven Pappas. His guest is Vermont Census coordinator Eloise Reid. It can be viewed at https://youtu.be/ouNne7P5R00

Leahy and University of Vermont officials this week announced new federal funding for research on the regions forest ecosystem and economy. The Northeastern States Research Cooperative, first created by Leahy in the 1998 Farm Bill, received $2 million in the fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill for research on the Northern Forest and its 26 million acres of working landscape.

Leahy said: The forest-based economy has underpinned rural communities in Vermont and across the region for generations. But securing its future requires sustained investments in ecosystem health, sustainable management and innovative products. Im proud to have authored the legislation to create this initiative and to have been able to secure funding to continue its critical research in 2020. The future of our landscape depends on it.

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Capitol Beat: The 'hack' and the 'communist' duke it out - Barre Montpelier Times Argus

People often miss the delightful landscape of Arnside and Silverdale as they hare off to the Lake District.

Small and perfect are words often used about the landscape lying immediately to the south of the Lake District. It tends to be bypassed by people belting up the M6 to join the queues of traffic into Windermere and Ambleside, but it was designated as an Area of Out-standing Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1972, which makes it equal to the Lakes and other national parks in its beauty and significance.

My work as a member of the Glover Review has reawakened my engagement with AONBs and the marvellous work their overseers do, often on a shoestring.

Arnside and Silverdale is a landscape of many treasures. Largely underlain by limestone, culminating in Arnside Knott with its splendid views over Morecambe Bay and the Lakes, its a place of immense beauty and diversity, which abounds in woodlands, meadows, reed beds and limestone pavements, not to mention spectacular coastal scenery. Its intimate and enticing: a short walk has as much variety as many a day-long hike elsewhere.

Our walk, however, is long and beautiful, from the village of Yealand in the east, through the RSPBs Leighton Moss reserve, around magical and remote reed-fringed Hawes Water and through woods up the hill to Arnside Knott. From there, well traverse back via Silverdale and the coast, then across deeply wooded country to Yealand.

We step out in thick mist, but love the characterful parkland landscape around Leighton Hall, with glimpses of woodland beyond. Even in January, Leighton Moss is teeming with visitors and we watch cormorants drying their wings fruitlessly in the damp air. We enter the mysterious Trowbarrow nature reserve, an abandoned quarry rapidly being reclaimed by Nature; we wish it was June, as we read descriptions of the rare orchids and butterflies were missing.

Next stop is Hawes Water, a mysterious, low-lying marl lake, where, once again, we are told of riches, bitterns and ladys slipper orchid, that can be seen when the time is right. We enjoy our swing around the lake and progress to Waterslack and into Eaves Wood in high spirits.

Here, a track circumnavigates the hill on which the famous Pepperpot stands and we follow it, keen to reach Arnside Knott with its promised glorious views. A sharp pull up the hill and were there, but the mist is stubborn and all we can see is a panorama board telling us what should be visible.

Disappointed, but not daunted, we clatter back down the hill and follow the path to the coast, where we are captivated by a new phenomenon: wonderful coastal formations lit by weak sunshine trying to break through the clouds. The soft, ethereal light bathes the coast in beauty and warms our hearts as we cross the meadows to Silverdale.

A short diversion takes us to Gibraltar Farm, which sells fresh milk, eggs and other local delights, and Lindeth Tower, a Victorian folly where Elizabeth Gaskell wrote her little-known, but excellent novel Ruth.

Resuming our walk, we cross the saltmarshes downstream from Leighton Moss, walking on an old sea wall as the light fades atmospherically around us. Reaching Crag Foot, we have only one more limestone ridge to cross and, as if to celebrate, a murmuration of starlings swirls around us. We pick our way across the wooded landscape, reaching Yealand as darkness descends.

Weve walked 12 miles, each with much to admire, used well-waymarked footpaths and seen a great deal of evidence (including many National Trust signs) that this is a loved and looked-after landscape.

I am full of praise for the small team, led by Lucy Barron, that cares for this place so well, but Im also full of desire to see the Glover Review implemented to give special landscapes such as this a stronger, more secure role in the serious task of Nature recovery and giving everyone a much-needed shot of beauty.

Fiona Reynolds is Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and author of The Fight for Beauty.

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Arnside and Silverdale: A landscape on par with the Lake District in its beauty and significance - Country Life

At the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home spoiler warning for the semi-fans (at best) who have yet to see the final Phase 3 installment the end-credits scene leaves MCU fans flabbergasted.And with Captain Marvel 2 coming (likely as part of phase 5), the Skrull surprises may be just beginning.

At the end of Far From Home, both Maria Hill and Nick Fury the two characters you trusted for the entirety of the narrative turn out to be Skrulls in disguise, leaving the MCU primed to manifest quite the complex and deceit-based landscape moving forward. Thus, these may not be the only two characters who wind up revealed as Skrulls. With the shape-shifters taking part in future phases, anything remains possible.

Recent news suggests that Marvel may employ this trick again; however, while the characters partaking may be left in the dark, the audience may be in on the secret next time around. So, what do we know, and who in the MCU may turn out to be a Skrull in disguise?

According to We Got This Covered (WGTC), Marvel reportedly wants to make Deadpool a Skrull when they bring the characters into the existing world of the Avengers. The outlet suggests relying on the same sources who knew Taskmaster would be the villain in Black Widow and that Aladdin 2 was in development prior to the announcements that the Merc with a Mouth could show up as a Skrull in Captain Marvel 2.

The source goes onto note that one of the most significant plot elements to come from Captain Marvel 2 will be the reveal that several existing characters are actually Skrulls pretending to be the heroes fans have come to know and love. And, one of those so-called heroes (if he fits under such an umbrella term) will be Deadpool. As of now, Marvel Studios is allegedly considering introducing Deadpool in this manner, before introducing the real Merc once the threat has been handled.

WGTC even goes on to explain why such an introduction could work, as Deadpool could later poke fun at the case of mistaken identity using his alien appearance as a way to mock the MCU (and its associated heroes) for their inability to see through a fake. What could be more Deadpool-esque?

If Captain Marvel 2 runs with this Skrull narrative, it could be the basis for a widescale invasion, leading to multiple fake heroes, and the possibilities remain endless. New Avengers may join the landscape, only for a Skrull to copycat their existence down the line.

According to WGTC, Carol Danvers (and whoever helps her in her next standalone installment) will realize theyre battling an enemy, and the real Deadpool (and presumably other characters taken on by Skrulls ) will come to the surface towards the end of the Captain Marvel installment. However, if the Skrulls manage a widescale takeover, its possible that they are the basis of future mash-ups, stealing identities left and right as the MCU progresses through Phase 5 and beyond.

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More Characters May Be Revealed as Skrulls in Disguise in the MCU: 'Captain Marvel 2' and Beyond - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

When Grubb Properties of Charlotte gained the approval from the Chapel Hill Town Council to begin the development of Glen Lennox, Clay Grubb hired Dan McMains, owner of JD Tree Pros, a company that was already working to preserve and maintain the landscape of the iconic, 50-year-old community.

What do I think of growth? McMains said recently. What did I think when they were building those houses beside our farm in Apex? What did I see? I saw my woods turned into a housing development. Did I have a problem with it?

At first I did. And then when my daughter grew up and moved out of my home, she moved into one of those houses and I thought to myself, well, she loves Apex. She wants to be here. Anybody that lived in Glen Lennox, for any part of their life, I bet you today would say, yeah, that place really does need to come down and be rebuilt.

I mean there has to be a lifespan of all things, but when someone says something to me about growth or changes, I ask how small of a footprint will we make with how big of an impact on the way we change it.

McMains already knew the Grubb Properties goals when he agreed to take on the task of removing, reclaiming and saving the hundreds of trees on the property.

Weve worked for Grubb over the years because theres been scenarios where Grubb Properties really wanted to know is this doable? Is it salvageable? McMains said. Can we really make something happen? Because you can put so much money into saving the tree when you are better off to remove it and come back with species and specimens that you know are going to be able to adapt to what youre doing.

First of all, is it safe enough for pedestrians and people who are going to be around old trees. Think about how inviting that area is now to walk around. You dont see certain specimens where theres such foot traffic. But they were so real with how they approached a job that if it was doable, lets do it. And they trusted me and I trusted them that they would do it that way.

McMains has worked on many projects where the owners insisted certain trees remain, with little long-range benefit.

The prime example was that great huge, beautiful tree over at Carey Towne Center, McMains said It was up on this big hill and they basically rerouted the parking lot. And the way they put the food courts and all those things in there to save this one tree, they put a huge 30-foot retaining wall to get a road around it. Two years later, it got struck by lightning. A few years later it got struck by lightning again.

So, the reality of it is good in theory, but realistically youre talking about a tree that was at the end of its lifespan. Why not take it down and preserve the area and make it a green space that we can really enjoy plant specimens that are going to be long term and teachable and, by God, use something that will give back, like the American chestnuts that are giving you food that you can eat from this tree thats coming up out of the ground. So thats just where Im at with it.

McMains knew there would be a lot of tree work at Glen Lennox with many options and opportunities.

I was working with the same home-owners association there and was familiar with what was taking place on the property, he said. I knew a lot of the trees. And then when Grubb reached out and said, Hey, were doing this in multiple phases. I was like, Thats great. Whats your plan?

It was the way they wanted to approach it. They were looking for ways of recycling or re-using this wood and thats where Carolina Urban Recycling in Charlotte came in. They were ready to drop these trees in certain places that can jeopardize fracturing the wood and breaking it to when you do go to mill it, the wood would just fall apart because the canopies were all taken off before they were cut down.

I liked how they were picking out pieces that they knew would hold the carbon inside for decades or good grade wood. And when they were talking about what they were doing with rest of it, how willing they were to work with UNC and recycling every bit of it.

I was like, okay, so were taking something that before could have potentially been upwards of 60 to 70 percent going into a landfill to now recycling all these boards. All this wood has been incorporated back into recycling, plus all the by-product from the root systems and the brush and all.

McMains reviewed their original plan and suggested what could be done and what would not benefit the neighborhood in the long run.

Some of the trees they wanted to keep with all the utilities, all the things that were going to happen in that area. And Im like, this is not gonna work. Youre gonna end up stressing and killing these trees.

And then when you do, theyre going to be harvested in a way that its beyond potentially re-using the wood because of worms or whatever the case may be, like fungal.

So, lets look at the differences of doing that now, knowing that its going to happen, and lets be real with it. And thats when we went to the church next door and talked to them specifically about saving these large oaks that were right there. And then a couple other items where they were willing to spend a little more money on doing it.

McMains said he pushed back on the original grading contract to clear and bulldoze trees so the cranes could come in to build the parking deck.

I said, absolutely not! Not if youre keeping that tree and this tree and youre removing this one here for unknown reasons, maybe for sidewalks or whatever the purpose may be; utilities were majority of it. You cant just push that up and tear up all that ground and tear these root systems out.

So they put a hold on that part of the work until we figured out a better way of doing it. Those were the things I love that they didnt just say, that sounds good but were not doing that because its going to cost a little more. Its going to take a little more time. Clay Grubb was more interested in preserving it the best way possible. And they did it.

The way he wanted it done, with our cranes, and the way we can remove trees, were not going to be damaging other trees or even infrastructures of the tree because, you know, a lot of people just see the tree. They dont realize whats underground. Its just as important if not more important.

We talked about the layers of mulch to put over all the trees that were being preserved. They went thick enough on it that we werent compacting all that soil. So thats one of the reasons were moving our company closer to Chapel Hill because I like the way people want to save trees and the ones that need to be removed. Were doing it without destroying the rest of environment. Thats pretty significant to me.

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Sponsored: Tree Pros Hired to Preserve and Recycle Trees at Glen Lennox - Chapelboro.com

There are about 9 million of us living here, and we all cant be delusional.

Apart from those who live here primarily because of job or family, most New Jerseyans live here because they like it here! New York City is a quick PATH or train ride away why live there?

The Shore, the Pine Barrens, beautiful countryside, diners, beaches, the nations most diverse city, small towns, great scenic highways does any state pack as much variety into one compact package as New Jersey? Nope.

Here are the 50 best reasons to live in New Jersey, from someone who was born here (Trenton) and has travelled endlessly to every part of the state. This list could have easily included 100 or more items.

What are your favorite reasons to live here? Let us know in the comments section. The list is not ranked.

Forget that store-bought, grown-in-California, -Mexico, -Peru or wherever produce. Nothing beats a tomato, peach or other fruit or vegetable from a Jersey roadside stand. Scores of family-run stands dot the landscape, and there are an additional 144 community farmers markets in towns across the state. N.J. ranks third nationally in cranberry production, fourth in tomatoes, bell peppers, peaches and cucumbers (cukes? who knew?) and sixth in blueberries. Were not called the Garden State for nothing.

Allentown (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

New Jersey may be the nations most densely populated state, but its small towns are underpublicized, underappreciated treasures. Of our 565 municipalities, 397 have populations under 15,000 and 190 have populations under 5,000, according to census figures. Those numbers dont even include the towns and hamlets that are part of municipalities: the Chatsworths, Mauricetowns and West Trentons of the world. Unlike, say, the Shore, small towns make for great year-round exploration. Heres my list of the states top 33 small towns, ranked.

Summit Diner

Diners didnt start in New Jersey they had their origins in Providence, R.I. but today the Garden State is the diner capital of the world, with 600 or so of the shiny stainless steel gems. They come in small and super-sized, vintage and brand new, limited hours or open all-night, with menus ranging from one page to telephone book-sized. The Broad Street Diner in Keyport won our N.J.'s best diner showdown, but your favorite diner is always the best. Heres my list of the best diner in each of N.J.'s 21 counties.

Nearly 70,000 acres of woods, mountains and valleys. One hundred miles of hiking trails. Thirty miles of biking trails. Spectacular waterfalls. Twenty-seven miles of the vaunted Appalachian Trail. Historic villages. Abundant wildlife. Maybe no other part of the state packs as much outdoor adventure in one place as the Delaware Water Gap. The Old Mine Road is one of the states great scenic highways, and spring is a perfect time to take a hike on one of those trails.

At low tide, students walk their sea kayaks across a sand bar in Barnegat Bay near the Natural Resource Education Center on Sedge Island.SL

What would we possibly do without the Shore? Its New Jerseys greatest asset and its best calling card, even if it gets overrun in the summer. With 130 miles of beaches, plus small towns, boardwalks, restaurants, parks and maybe even a few secret spots, the Shore beckons us every summer. Its in our DNA. Just try to ignore those unavoidable traffic jams on the Parkway. Ive lived the past 15 years down the Shore. I cant imagine living anywhere else.

Beer flight, Glasstown Brewing, Millville (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Fifty wineries and 100-plus craft breweries and brew pubs: New Jersey may have a way to go to match California in vino and Colorado in brew, but its certainly no slouch. The Garden State Wine Growers Association publishes handy guides in print and online, covering wineries from Alba to Working Dog. And craft beer lovers like me never have to travel far to find a super sour or prize-worthy porter. A flight from Glasstown Brewing in Millville is shown in the photo.

Nicoletta Pizza, Bernardsville (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Its accepted as truth (by New Yorkers, naturally) that the Big Apple makes the best pizza. Well, as the person who has eaten at more pizzerias on both sides of the river than anyone (1,200-plus places and counting), Ill call it a dead heat. (That screaming you hear is from outraged New Yorkers.) My advice to them: Cross the Hudson once in a while. Heck, even the New York Times own reviewer called Razza in Jersey the best pizza in NYC. Here are the 10 finalists in our N.J.'s best pizzeria showdown last summer.

most and least diverse states in the U.S.

New Jersey is the fourth most ethnically diverse state (more diverse than New York), and Jersey City is the most ethnically diverse city in the U.S. (NYC is No. 3). North Jersey especially is a United Nations of dining; no need to schlep into the big city for ethnic eats, no matter how little known.

Pork roll egg and cheese, Gronsky's House, High Bridge (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

A Taylor ham (or pork roll), egg and cheese is New Jerseys unofficial state sandwich, and since we have an official state reptile, state bug even a state dinosaur youd think some New Jersey governor would come along and proclaim Taylor ham, egg and cheese the official state sandwich. The textbook definition a lightly smoked and cured pork product, with spices, salt, and preservatives doesnt do it justice. When the bread, egg, cheese and Taylor ham/pork roll are just right, you have something pretty close to a breakfast epiphany. Heres a video by Thrillist in which several experts (one youll recognize) explain why Taylor ham (or pork roll) rules New Jersey. And heres my list of N.J.'s 33 best Taylor ham/pork roll sandwiches.

A time lapse image of the Somerville circleSL

Many people hate traffic circles. (These are usually people who have no clue how to navigate them.) I love traffic circles and will cry like a baby when the last one bites the dust. Circles have tormented and terrified Jersey drivers since 1925, when the Airport Circle opened in Pennsauken. I love circles so much I even hold the unofficial worlds record for most trips around a circle (55) without stopping. And lets not forget that World War I officially ended at what is now the Somerville Circle. Really. On July 12, 1921, President Warren Harding signed a joint congressional resolution declaring an end to the war against Germany and Austria. On that historic day, the president found time to play two rounds of golf; in between, he signed the resolution at the country estate of former state Sen. Joseph Frelinghuysen. Theres a marker in front of the PC Richard commemorating the occasion.

Its an island, and a world, away. Long Beach Island 18 miles long, although you can easily walk from one side to the other has always seemed to be the anti-Jersey Shore: less noise, congestion, neon and traffic, although you dont want to be on Route 72 heading to LBI on a summer weekend. (Theres no other way in unless you have a boat.) Beach Haven, Surf City and Ship Bottom are the main municipalities, although my favorite town is Barnegat Light, at the northern tip, home to Mustache Bills Diner, Viking Village and Barnegat Lighthouse aka Old Barney.

Snack stand, Storybook Land (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Somehow, in a world of Great Adventure, video games and other distractions, New Jerseys old-school amusement parks survive if not thrive. The Land of Make Believe, in Hope, has been open since 1954. Storybook Land in Egg Harbor Township, built around nursery rhyme characters, opened one year later. Wild West City, the western heritage theme park, opened in 1957. Its not an amusement park, but Space Farms in Beemerville does have 500-plus live animals, nine museum buildings and antique cars and firearms. All four attractions are proof that you dont need high-tech to create hijinks for kids of all ages.

Texas Weiners, Plainfield (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

If you love hot dogs, dont move, because New Jersey is the center of the hot dog universe. There are probably more hot dog trucks, carts and storefronts crammed into Passaic, Essex, Bergen and Union counties than any comparably-sized area in the country. New Jersey is not just the center of the hot dog universe, its the cradle of hot dog civilization. Birthplace of the Italian hot dog? Newark, Jimmy Buffs, 1932. Birthplace of the chili dog or Texas weiner? Paterson or Plainfield, take your pick; both cities claim the honor. Sabrett, found at hot dog carts and trucks across the country, is headquartered in Englewood. Best Provision, a major supplier of hot dogs to supermarkets, is headquartered in Newark. Heres my behind-the-scenes profile of this low-profile company.

New York City? Nathans, the most iconic hot dog stand in the world, is there, but otherwise its pretty much a million street carts selling the same bland hot dog. Whoopee.

Wildwood boardwalk (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

There is something about the soft comforting plunk of shoe or sandal on the boards. Around you are the sights, sounds and smells of summer wheel operators barking; kids screaming gleefully on the rides; the welcoming whiff of funnel cake, ice cream, pizza and sausage sandwiches. I walked every boardwalk from Sea Bright to Cape May for the ultimate NJ boardwalk guide. But I didnt need to make that journey to know the best boardwalk in NJ: Wildwood. Not just because it was the boardwalk of my youth, but because it packs more food, fun, variety, piers and neon than any other, including Seaside. It boasts Jerseys only boardwalk sundial and its only boardwalk chapel. And dont forget to watch the tram car, please. Heres my list of the states 40 best boardwalk foods.

Roosevelt Park, Edison

County parks are one of Jerseys underrated treasures, tree-shaded havens perfect for picnics, games and cookouts. I worked in Middlesex County for many years, and that countys parks were second homes to me Johnson Park in Highland Park and Piscataway; Roosevelt Park in Edison; and Donaldson Park in Highland Park. One of the most beautiful county parks is Mantoloking Bridge County Park in Brick, with a 70-foot-long pier, boardwalk, picnic area and gazebo.

DiCosmo's Italian Ice, Elizabeth (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Its little more than a shack, and one of the states food legends. DiCosmos Italian Ice in Elizabeth has been a Peterstown fixture since 1915, when Katerina and Giovanni DiCosmo started making Italian ice at the corner of Fourth and High. Only three or four flavors are available at any one time. One stop, and youll never go to that chain water ice store again.

The Pinelands 1.1 million acres takes up a major chunk of the state, but Im guessing a slim minority of New Jerseyans have actually spent time exploring it. (Driving through it on the way to somewhere else doesnt count.) Its paradise to hikers, canoeists, fishermen and folks who just want to escape the outside world. Stop at the Pinelands Adventures office in Shamong to pick up a Pinelands Exploration Map and learn about their tours and trips.

Belford Co-Op, Belford (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Fish doesnt get any fresher than at one of New Jerseys seafood co-ops, where fishermen offload just-caught fish and shellfish, which are then sold in the co-ops market. Co-ops include Belford (in photo), Viking Village in Barnegat Light and Point Pleasant Beach.

Kohr's custard and ice cream stand on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights.SL

No Jersey Shore visit is complete without a cool, creamy cone or cup from Kohrs or Kohr Bros., two sides of the family business that started with a stand by five Kohr brothers on the Coney Island boardwalk in 1919. There are Kohrs or Kohr Bros. locations in Point Pleasant Beach, Seaside Heights, Wildwood and Cape May, among other places.

Barbecue, Ironbound festival (Ed Murray I The Star-Ledger)

The states greatest food neighborhood, Newarks Ironbound is home to some 200 restaurants, cafes, markets and specialty food stores. It was "destroyed'' in the 2005 "War of the Worlds'' remake with Tom Cruise, but this is one neighborhood that seems destined to last forever. There are Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian restaurants and markets for sure, but also Italian, Ecuadorian, Mexican and many others. Its a culinary wonderland, steps from Newark Penn Station.

The road to Pakim Pond (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

North Jerseyans seem to take special delight in putting down South Jersey, but South Jerseyans want no part of "up north,'' and for good reason. Less people, less traffic, more peace and quiet, more open space the Pine Barrens in particular. Probably less aggravation and agita, too. There may be less to "do'' in South Jersey, and thats just the point. Here are 11 reasons why South Jersey may be better than either North or Central Jersey.

The view atop High Point State Park (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Its the states highest point, at 1,803 feet, but have you actually been to the top? Didnt think so. High Point State Park was dedicated in 1923. The landscaping was done by the Olmsted Brothers of Boston, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park. Follow the road to the top (there is, improbably, a beach along the way) and take in the breathtaking views from the top of New Jersey.

Fork in the Road food truck (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Ten years ago, the states food truck scene was relegated to a handful of trucks. In 2013, the Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival at Monmouth Park was the first large-scale food truck festival. Now, nearly 200 food trucks roam the Jersey landscape, fixtures at fairs, festivals, office parks and waterfronts. Check out the Ultimate N.J. Food Truck Guide, broken down into All-American fare, ethnic and seafood, and desserts and beverages. And heres my list of the states 40 best food trucks.

Cant ignore this one. NYC and Philly are an hour or so away from much of New Jersey, promising bright lights, big city, nightlife and restaurants. The Philly food scene is underrated, and New York well, we all know (New Yorkers keep telling us) that the Big Apple makes the best pizza, bagels and just about every other food on earth. Maybe they should be reminded that New Jersey is the center of the food universe.

Fiore's Deli, Hoboken (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

If I had to take one sandwich to my desert island, or the great hereafter, it would probably be the roast beef and homemade mozzarella sub at legendary Fiores. The deli is an old-school deli movie set tin ceiling; fluorescent lighting; a display case filled with olives, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and other specialties. A photo of Mother Teresa is wedged between sardine tins. Theres no website or official Facebook page no surprise there. Theres no printed sandwich menu either just tell whomevers behind the counter what you want, and be sure to ask about the specials. First-timer? Go on Thursday or Saturday, the only days you can get that heavenly roast beef and mozzarella sandwich.

The largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere is in New Jersey where else did you think it would be? That would be the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium and LSC Giant Dome Theater at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. A lighting system capable of producing nearly 300 trillion colors and speakers that can blast 30,000 watts of digital sound add up to a mind-blowing celestial experience.

Rotisserie chicken, Amish Market at Mullica Hill (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The Amish Market at Mullica Hill is one of my two or three favorite specialty food stores in the entire state. Theres a bakery (good bread and sticky buns); a deli; meat and seafood vendors; and ice cream, candy and cheese counters. My favorite thing: the barbecue chickens at Yoders, in the back. Just thinking of them makes me want to jump in my car right now.

Other Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch markets include Dutch Country Farmers Market in Raritan Township (next to Flemington); the Greater Bridgeton Amish Market and the Williamstown Farmers Market.

Jonah Norman, 3, gets wet in the spray of The Great Falls, which look more like Niagara Falls as the floodwaters of the Passaic River flow through Paterson. His father Max Norman brought him down to look at the falls while visiting from Los Angeles (John Munson I The Star-Ledger)SL

Yeah, yeah, everyones heard of the Great Falls, but have you actually been there? Not seen it from a distance, but from the bridge overlooking the states greatest natural wonder? Visit it in floodwater stage, as seen in the photo above, for maximum magnificent effect. While youre there, have a chili dog at hot dog landmark Libbys Lunch, right across the street. Im going to keep writing about the Great Falls until every last New Jerseyan visits it. That may take a while Im continually astonished how many people have never been there. Go. Now. Or Im going to pester you until the end of time.

Sandip Patel, owner of Chowpatty, Oak Tree Road, Iselin (Jerry McCrea I The Star-Ledger)SL

The state is packed with great ethnic food neighborhoods Newarks Ironbound, the Middle Eastern restaurant/markets on Main Street in South Paterson, Little Korea in Palisades Park and Bergenline Avenue in Union City among them but none are more atmospheric than Little India, in Woodbridges Iselin section. Scores of restaurants, sweets shops, food markets, jewelry and clothing stores are crammed along Oak Tree Road. Skirts give way to saris, and free copies of Desi Talk and News India Times are available in newspaper boxes.

Victorian jewel. Impossibly romantic. Lively dining scene. Excellent beach. And a grace period on your parking meter! Cape May does the Jersey Shore experience like no other town. But its not stuffy, encompassing everything from fanciful B&Bs to the hole-in-the-wall Hot Dog Tommys. Speaking of food, Cape May was named one of the nations top 20 food cities by Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

Grill, Donkey's Place, Camden (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

What does South Jersey do better than North or Central Jersey? Cheesesteaks, and its not even debatable. No less an authority than the late Anthony Bourdain proclaimed the best Philly cheesesteak can actually be found in New Jersey, at Donkeys Place in Camden (grill shown in photo). Donkeys also made my list of the states 20 best cheesesteaks.

Pastoral view on one of NJ's scenic highways (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

New Jersey may not be Colorado or even Vermont, but there are some damn scenic roads and countryside here. From the rolling hills of Sussex and Warren counties, clear down to the open, empty spaces of Gloucester and Cumberland, our state and county highways provide front-row seats to a New Jersey you may have forgotten existed. Here are my 20 favorite scenic roads for that perfect drive. Time to get your motor running and head out on the highway.

Mama Chicken, Palisades Park (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Korean fried chicken was once largely a Bergen County thing, but restaurants offering this uber-crunchy twist on Southern fried chicken are starting to spread southward into Edison, New Brunswick and elsewhere. Korean fried chicken is twice-fried, which accounts for the colossal crispiness, and its always made to order, which means a wait of about 15-20 minutes. That wait is so worth it. My two favorite places: Peck Peck in Teaneck and Mama Chicken in Palisades Park (in photo).

Ahh, the county fair. Neon-lit midways, rides spinning into the warm summer night and enough deep-fried food to put a smile on your face and stop your heart at the same time. The county fair is one of Americas great summer traditions. Among the best: the Middlesex County Fair in August, the Warren County Farmers Fair (late July/early August) and the Somerset County 4-H Fair in August.

Pastry selection in one Middle Eastern bakery in Paterson (Brian Donahue I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The Ironbound in Newark and Little India in Iselin are probably the states best-known ethnic food neighborhoods. Less heralded is the cornucopia of Middle Eastern shops, markets, bakeries and restaurants along Main Street in South Paterson. Fattals Syrian Bakery and Nouri Brothers are legendary. For Turkish food, try Toros (theres another location in Clifton); for desserts, Nayef Sweets, just off Main. And on the next blinding hot summer day (I know; itll be a while), try the mint lemonade at Al Basha bracing and refreshing.

A shady, often-overlooked oasis in the midst of the megalopolis, Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park, 70 miles long, is paradise for walkers, hikers, fishermen, canoeists and folks who just want to lose themselves for a while. Beside the paths, there are tender houses, wooden bridges and remnants of locks, a reminder of an age when freight moved by mule teams or steam tugboats. Scenic spots include Washington Crossing, Bulls Island and Griggstown.

Serene Custard, VinelandNOAH ADDIS

There are only a few food-related items in this list, so you know this one is special. Serene Custard, on the other side of the railroad tracks in the states largest city by size, opened in 1959; current owner Ed Rone took over in 1984. His wife, Linda, makes the ice cream (32 flavors of hard, three soft-serve). Rone uses what he calls the Rolls-Royce of mixes, from Crowleys, which costs $9 per gallon. Other mixes, he adds, contain a lot of soy and stabilizers. Serene was named the best ice cream in South Jersey in an Inside Jersey ice cream competition, and the soft-serve here remains among the states best rich, creamy and colder than any other soft-serve Ive tried.

South Branch, Raritan River, Clinton (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Hunterdon County is not on this list because I lived there on two different occasions (Clinton town, Alexandria), but because its the prettiest and most picturesque of N.J.'s 21 counties. (Sorry, Warren, Sussex, etc.) Charming small towns, beautiful countryside, winding back roads, farms Hunterdon is a great place for day trips or weekend-long stays. Three of the top 14 towns in my ranking of N.J.'s best small towns are in Hunterdon, including No. 1. The photo shows the Red Mill Museum and the south branch of the Raritan River in Clinton.

Cowtown Rodeo, Pilesgrove (Joe Proudman I The Star-Ledger)

The nations longest-running weekly professional rodeo is in ... New Jersey? Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, held every Saturday night from late May to late September, features bull riding, saddle bronc and bareback riding, steer wrestling and barrel racing. Sit in the stands: Youll feel as if youre in Montana, or at least somewhere far from Jersey. Pilesgrove is also home to the Corner Bar, the winner of our N.J.'s best bar showdown.

Hackensack River (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Bruce sang about them, of course, but the swamps of North Jersey have come a long way since the 1970s, when parts of the Hackensack River and its tributaries were an environmental nightmare due to pollution. Today, thanks to the Hackensack Riverkeeper and other organizations, the swamps of North Jersey make for prime nature excursions just off the Turnpike. Sign up for one of the Hackensack Riverkeepers eco-cruises; theyre highly recommended.

How many states besides New Jersey have a six story-high, 137-year-old elephant on the National Register of Historic Places? That would be none. Lucy the Elephant, built in 1881 out of a million pieces of timber and 12,000 square feet of tin, is a magnificent must-see. Shes a she, although those tusks of hers are found only on male elephants. You walk up one of Lucys legs to reach the informative museum.

There are a handful of Wawas scattered around North Jersey, but folks up there need to visit South Jersey to see how deeply Wawa is ingrained into South Jersey life and culture. To say they are everywhere in South Jersey is an understatement: There are 127 Wawas within 20 miles of Mount Holly. Wawa may have been hatched in Pennsylvania the first store opened in Folsom, Pa., on April 16, 1964 but the chain is more Garden State than Keystone State. There are 228 Wawas in Pennsylvania and 248 in Jersey and counting. Thats a lot of geese in flight. Wawa is not only a Lenni Lenape term, it also appears in Longfellows The Song of Hiawatha: And in flocks/The wild goose Wawa.

For the ultimate Wawa story, check out this one about a reporters attempt to visit 50 Wawas all over the state in one day.

''The states largest museum" barely does the Newark Museum justice. Its a world-class museum: collections include Arts of Global Africa, American Art and Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean. The museum actually started at the Newark Public Library in 1909, opening in its current space in 1926. The first floor of the 1885 Ballantine House was saved and restored for the Bicentennial as a showcase for the decorative arts. The Dalai Lama attended the consecration of the museums Tibetan Buddhist altar in 1990. The museum also hosts the Newark Black Film Festival, the nations longest-running black film festival. Schoolkids around the state can speak of the celestial wonder of the Alice and Leonard Dreyfuss Full-Dome Planetarium. The last time I visited the museum was to judge a best wing competition, which reminds me I need to re-visit this fabulous space again sometime soon.

Mike Laffey feeds two giraffes at the Cape May County Zoo (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Cape May County Zoo opened in 1978 with an African lion, spider monkeys, some Jersey wildlife and farm animals. It is now home to 550 animals parrots, macaws, kookaburras, bongos, ostriches, ring-tailed lemurs, giraffes, bison, Burmese python, elk, a red panda, black bear, lions and the worlds largest rodent, not to mention flamingos from Michael Jacksons Neverland Ranch. And the 87-acre zoo, amazingly, is free. As in no admission fee. The zoo is New Jerseys own wild kingdom, near the end of its busiest highway.

White Manna in Hackensack (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The White Manna in Hackensack (not to be confused with the equally iconic White Mana in Jersey City) is the Fenway Park of diners a red-trimmed, glass-block jewel with 20 seats and the irresistible smell of meat and onions emanating from the tiny grill. Get a double cheeseburger with onions; its not a big fancy designer burger, but youll dream about it the day after.

Camden is home to the nations most decorated battleship, the BB&T Pavilion, Phillys best cheesesteak, the Walt Whitman House and Adventure Aquarium, where you can find everything from African cichlids and American lobsters to stingrays and waxy monkey frogs. And sharks zebra sharks, silky sharks and sand tiger sharks. Dont forget to say hello to Button and Genny, African hippos that weigh in at a colossal 3,000 pounds each. For the ultimate underwater experience, put on a wetsuit and go nose-to-nose with the sharks.

One of the states grand visual spectacles, the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning packs mass ascensions of huge, colorful balloons, concerts, food and fireworks in one action-packed summer weekend. The launch site is Solberg Airport in Readington, but youll often see the balloons drifting magnificently across Route 202 or 22. The 2020 dates are July 24-26.

Youd think with shiny new convenience stores marching relentlessly across the Jersey landscape, general stores would die and quickly. Think again. At the big, new QuickCheks and Wawas, you can buy breakfast, lunch and dinner, fill up the car and use the ATM just about around the clock. Yet the general store soldiers on, all squeaky floors and sagging ceilings and limited stock. In dozens of towns and hamlets across the state, particularly in Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon counties, the general store is the main business and the best place to catch up on local news and gossip. In several towns, it serves as the local post office. The most atmospheric general stores include Rambos Country Store in Califon and the Allenwood General Store in Wall, an antiques/second-hand wonderland that happens to serve one of the states best Taylor ham/pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches.

The Great Swamp Natural Wildlife Refuge 7,768 acres of woods, grassland and swamp is a prime bird-watching spot, and youll also see deer, fox, turtles, muskrat and other wildlife along the eight miles of designated hiking trails and the two mile-long auto tour route on Pleasant Plains Road. Despite the name, its striking terrain, and a reminder New Jersey packs a lot of beauty in its overdeveloped self. And to think a major airport was almost built here in the 70s.

The waitresses of the Colonial Diner, Woodbury (Avi Steinhardt)

New Jersey is the most mocked, maligned and misunderstood state. It takes chutzpah and a certain je ne sais quoi to live here. Were forever suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous insults from New Yorkers and other folks who dont know any better. But we somehow rise above it, displaying manners (most of the time, anyway) and a sense of humor, with a bit of attitude thrown in for good measure. Are we perfect? No. But I dont think residents of any other state are more fiercely proud of who they are than the typical Jerseyan.

downtown Spring Lake (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

There are hundreds (thousands?) of reasons why New Jersey is a great place to live. What are your top 10 or 20? Let us know in the comments section.

Ocean Drive, Strathmere (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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The 50 best reasons to live in New Jersey - NJ.com