Christie: The Jersey Shore Is Open For Business

Governor Christie meeting with business owners at McLoone’s Pier House in Long Branch, April 18, 2013. Photo by Art Gallagher

After meeting with business owners in Long Branch yesterday, Governor Chris Christie told the press that the businesses’ biggest frustration is the amount of phone calls they get asking if they are open.  “They’re happy that at least the phone is ringing,” said Christie, emphasizing that the perception that the Shore is not open has to be impacted.

Christie said that there would be a multi-media ad campaign launch by the Economic Development Authority next month to promote Jersey Shore Tourism.  It has not been determined if Christie will appear in the aid. “I haven’t been asked. If I’m asked and I think it is appropriate I will consider it,” the governor said in response to a reporter who asked if he would appear in the state funded ad during the gubernatorial campaign season.

The governor said that EDA would be announcing a working capital grant program for businesses impacted by Superstorm Sandy in May and that the Department of Community Affairs will be administering a grant program for homeowners who can apply for up to $150,000 in federal money, over and above what they have already received from FEMA and their insurance companies to rebuild their homes.

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Bellew challenges Kyrillos to debates as questions about her educational background arise

LD 13 Challenger told MMM she graduated from law school

Leigh-Ann Bellew, the Tea Party backed candidate running against State Senator Joe Kyrillos in the 13th legislative district GOP primary issued a debate challenge to the incumbent yesterday just as simmering questions about her educational background surfaced in the press.

Bellew said that Trenton has changed Kyrillos over the last 26 years and that 13th district Republicans should learn where the candidates stand on the Constitution, Tax Policy and Gun Rights.

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DOT: No Additional Red Light Cameras

“O’Scanlon: A good step, but rip-offs continue

NJ101.5 photo

The New Jersey Department of Transportation announced yesterday that no additional red light cameras will be installed in the state under the pilot program that is scheduled to run through the end of next year, according to an Associated Press report.

The program, which includes 76 cameras throughout New Jersey, was started in 2009 ostensibly to promote public safety and reduce motor vehicle accidents.  DOT says they are not installing new cameras because there is not enough time to collect data from them before the program expires.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon says no more data is needed from any of the cameras.  They don’t enhance public safety, but are safety hazards.  The program is a money grab from New Jersey motorist.

“We know these cameras do  not improve safety,” O’Scanlon said, “The data is indisputable. Every objective study on this  equipment demonstrates that. Subsequently, many jurisdictions are choosing to  eliminate the cameras altogether. But the camera companies continue to  relentlessly push for more cameras – clearly demonstrating that their only  motivation is stealing more money from NJ residents. It is long past the time  that New Jersey join the bandwagon and end this  failed program.”

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Greg’s List: Things to do in Monmouth County this weekend—April 19-21

By Greg Kelly

Friday, April 19

• Marriage Is Hazardous to Your Health at First Ave Playhouse (Atlantic Highlands) – MORE INFO

• Noir at NJ Repertory Theater (Long Branch) – MORE INFO

• Guys & Dolls at Spring Lake Community House – MORE INFO

• Max Weinberg at The Stone Pony (Asbury Park) – MORE INFO

• Step Afrika! at Monmouth U (WLB) – MORE INFO

• Monty Python’s SPAMALOT at Algonguin Arts Theatre (Manasquan) – MORE INFO

• Ryan Beatty at Count Basie theatre (Red Bank) – MORE INFO

• The Electric Baby at TRT (Red Bank) – MORE INFO

• Asbury Park Bookfest Weekend – MORE INFO

• Spring Swap Meet & Auto Show at Raceway Park (Englishtown) – MORE INFO

• Tri-State Theatre Festival (Spring Lake) – MORE INFO

• Fit to Kill by Monmouth Players (Middletown) – MORE INFO

• Anything Goes at Count Basie Theatre (Red Bank) – MORE INFO

• Roger McGuinn Workshop & Guitar Circle at Monmouth U (WLB) – MORE INFO

• Simple Gifts Folk Concert (Atlantic Highlands) – MORE INFO

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SHERIFF UNVEILS NEW TEXT MESSAGE TIP LINE IN THE LATEST EFFORT TO HELP COMBAT CRIME

The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is sending a message out that it needs the public’s help in combating crime, and hopes to get a message back, via text. Through the agency’s new initiative, people can report a tip about suspicious behavior in an easier and more convenient way than ever before, anonymously, at anytime from anywhere, by text messaging.

“In an effort to fight crime continuously and effectively in Monmouth County, we need the public’s input when it comes to reporting suspicious activity,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “The new tip line will help do that since people can now communicate directly and anonymously, without the fear of identification or retaliation. This is a law enforcement/community partnership to maintain public safety.”

The text messaging tip line, which is installed in the law enforcement division of the sheriff’s office, allows people with a cell phone to immediately access the tip line with no questions asked. People should still call 911 to report a crime in progress. However, to report a tip or suspicious activity, people simply need to enter the number 67283 into their cell phones. They can text their info with the word MONTIPS included in the body of the message. The tip is immediately transmitted to a PC and an officer will be notified by an alert that a tip was texted, which will then result in an appropriate response.

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Christie in Long Branch Today

Governor Chris Christie will be holding a roundtable discussion with local business leaders, followed by a press conference, at McLoone’s Pier House in Long Branch this afternoon. The event is scheduled to start at 2:30.

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Lautenberg returns to Washington to vote for gun control measures. Anti-gun legislation still fails in the Senate

U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg returned to the Senate floor in a wheelchair today, after a six week absence due to muscle fatigue caused by cancer treatments, in order to give gun control advocates a the deciding vote in legislation that would expand the use of background checks for gun purchasers.  The legislation failed, 54-46. Sixty votes were required for passage.  Other gun control measures failed in the Senate today by wider margins.

Four Democrats voted against the background check amendment.  Four Republicans voted for it.

President Obama said, “It is a shameful day in Washington,” as family members of children killed in the Newtown, CT massacre stood behind him.

Obama, Senate Democrats, NBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, the New York Times, et al, as well as Barbara Buono and Sheila Oliver in Trenton, have been pushing to further restrict the right to bear arms since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown on December 14 of last year.

Today’s legislative failure by Obama and the left is a victory for law abiding gun owners and the 2nd Amendment.

Today could be marked as the beginning of the lame duck phase of Obama’s presidency.

Most Americans don’t care, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday.  Only 4% of Americans think guns are a major problem.  Yet Washington and the national media have been consumed with the issue for the last four months.

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Christie Reverses the Gender Gap

Women Approve of Christie More Than Men Do

Public Workers Give Governor High Marks

Guv Christie accepting Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long’s endorsement. Photo by Serena DiMaso. Taken with Tom Arone’s phone

Governor Chris Christie still looks to be cruising to reelection, according to a Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press poll released this morning.

Christie’s overall approval rating is 63%, according to Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.  The governor’s ratings are slightly stronger among registered voters, 65% of whom approve of his job performance. 86% of Republicans, 64% of Independents and 52% of give Christie high marks.

On the stump, Christie has been promoting how he has reduced the size of government in New Jersey since taking office. “There’s over 5000 fewer employees in state government today than when I took office, and over 20,000 fewer government employees across the state,” Christie says in a campaign video, “We promised to make government smaller, we’ve made government smaller.”  Despite these facts, 54% of public workers approve of Christie’s job performance compared to 37% who do not.

Since Superstorm Sandy, there has been virtually no “gender gap” in Christie’s approval ratings as measured by the Monmouth Poll.  In a poll released on September 27, 2012, one month before Sandy, men approved of Christie’s performance by a 61%-31% margin. Women approved by only 6 points, 47%-41%.  In Murray’s first post Sandy poll on Christie, in December, the gender gap closed. 68% of men and 66% of women approved in December.  The trend continued in the February poll with 69% of men and 70% of women approving of the governor.  In today’s poll, the gender gap exceeded the statistical margin of error for the first time since Sandy, with the surprising result that women approve of Christie more than men do. Women approve by a 65%-26% margin and men approve by 61%-27%.

If Murray polled a head to head match up between Christie and the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, State Senator Barbara Buono, he did not report the results today. He did report that 59% of registered voters think that Christie deserves a second term.

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Sheriff Golden: Monmouth Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security, OEM Steps Up Alert In Response To Boston Bombing

Monmouth County Sheriff’s Patrol At Seastreak’s Highlands Ferry Terminal. April 15, 2013. Photo by Art Gallagher. Click for full view.

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said that his Law Enforcement Division, the Office of Emergency Management and homeland security personnel are on heightened alert as a precaution in response to the bombing at the Boston Marathon this afternoon.

There is no known specific threat in Monmouth County.

“We routinely patrol transit hubs like the ferry terminals and train stations, as well as they shopping malls, ” Golden said, “when an incident like what happened in Boston today occurs, we take additional precautions. We’ll be monitoring state and federal communications and be on heightened alert at least through tomorrow.  We have emergency response assets deployed throughout the county.”

Sheriff’s Office personnel will be meeting with the police departments of the communities that are hosting the May 5 New Jersey Marathon at the Shore to review security protocols, Golden added,

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Low turnout is a major risk for LD 13 incumbents

LD 13:Aberdeen, Atlantic Highlands, Fair Haven, Hazlet, Highlands, Holmdel, Keansburg, Keyport, Little Silver, Marlboro, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Rumson, Sea Bright, Union Beach

The idea that State Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon could be defeated by their Tea Party challengers, Leigh-Ann Bellew for Senate and Edna Walsh and Stephen Boracchia for Assembly, in the June 4 primary is unthinkable, even laughable, to many Monmouth County Republicans.

But recent history and a look at the numbers indicate that an upset with statewide consequences could very well be in the making if the challenge is not taken seriously.

With only nominal competition in the governor’s race, voter turnout in the Republican primary on June 4 is likely to be very low.   Therein lies the danger for the incumbents. Even “good Republicans” rarely vote in primaries.  Even fewer if there is no perceived competition.

There are 34,216 registered Republicans in the 13th district. In the 2011 primary, the last time the legislature was on the ballot, only 2,274 Republicans voted.   The challengers know that.

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