Delayed Opening for State Offices

UPDATE:  Monmouth County’s Government offices open at 10:30 a.m. today.

New Jersey’s roads are open today, but Governor Chris Christie has ordered a delayed opening until 11 a.m. for State offices due to hazardous weather conditions. Essential personnel should go to work as normally scheduled.

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Gallagher on Power and Politics this weekend

Luke Margolis, Art Gallagher and Jay Lassiter on the News12 set

Your favorite blogger appears on News12’s Power and Politics with Luke Margolis this weekend opposite the indefatigable Democratic activist Jay Lassiter.

Our topic was Congressman Chris Smith’s commitment to human rights and his controversial comments regarding LGBT rights vs human rights last month.

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Valentine’s Day-Presidents Day

HighlandsNJFlowers.com

Valentine’s Day is this coming Saturday. Monday is Presidents Day.  If you have not taken down your Christmas decorations, it’s time.

For couples who share Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal’s admiration for Essex County, Newark is offering vacant lots for $1000.  Couples (of any gender mix) can show up at City Hall on Saturday from 9am to noon with $500 to secure their plot.  The other $500 is due at closing.   The catch?  The couples have to build a home on the property and live in it for five years.

Ladies, you don’t have to get your guy a present. You are a gift.  But if you want to, a new HD TV is acceptable.  Head over to Airport Plaza in Hazlet and visit IEI for the best selection and pricing.   Guys, don’t even think about getting your love a TV for Valentine’s Day.

At the very least, guys, you must get you lover flowers and/or chocolate.  Good news! You can buy those right now from MMM advertisers InTheGarden in Highlands for flowers and Suzi’s Sweet Shoppe in Middletown for chocolate.

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Christie nominates Hanlon as Monmouth County Clerk

Christine Giordano Hanlon and Monmouth County Clerk M. Claire French at the Assembly Republicans event in Atlantic City, February 2, 2015. photo by Art Gallagher

Governor Chris Christie has nominated Christine Giordano Hanlon, Esq., to replace M. Claire French as Monmouth County Clerk.

French, who has served as Clerk since 1997 and been elected four times, announced her retirement effective in March last month. Her term was scheduled to expire at the end of 2017.

Hanlon, of Ocean Township, is an attorney at Archer & Greiner’s Middletown, NJ office.  She serves as Deputy Borough Attorney in Tinton Falls, Prosecutor in Atlantic Highlands and as a Commissioner of the Monmouth County Board of Elections.  A member of Christie’s transition team in 2009, Hanlon is also Vice Chair of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

Hanlon’s nomination is subject to confirmation by the State Senate.  It is expected that Hanlon will be nominated to run for a full five year term by the Monmouth GOP and stand for election in November.

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Correction: U.S. Attorney has not opened new Christie investigation into Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office

Governor Chris Christie at Long Branch press conference, August , 2014 photo by Art Gallagher

Contrary to published reports, including one here at MMM, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman’s office has not opened a new criminal investigation into Governor Chris Christie’s role, if any, in quashing the prosecution of former Hunterdon County Sheriff Deborah Trout.

The initial inaccurate report was published by International Business Times, a content partner of MMM through repubHub.  MMM published the IBT story after noticing it was being cited by other news outlets.

On Friday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show published a report that included a denial from the U.S. Attorney’s office that it is investigating Christie over the Trout issue. (h/t SaveJersey)

“Any characterization that we are investigating the Governor about this is just not true … . [W]e talk to people all the time. It doesn’t mean we’re investigating anybody.”

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There is still Hope for Mater Dei Prep

Mater Dei Prep, the Catholic High School in Middletown affiliated with St. Mary Parish has received a two month life line.

On Tuesday, Father Jeff Kegley announced the school would close its doors and stop educating young Catholics in June because after years of financial losses the parish could no longer sustain the school which is on track to lose $1 million this year.

Yesterday, encouraged by “the tremendous outpouring of support from the school and parish community to keep Mater Dei Prep open”, Fr. Kegley announced a two month fund raising campaign, “Save the Seraphs,” to raise the $1 million necessary to keep the school operating another year.

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Congressman Smith: LGBT persons should be treated with respect and compassion

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ-4), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Africa and Human Rights, responded to the controversy about a remark concerning homosexual rights and human rights that he made during a hearing last week on combating violence inflicted by the terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigera with a statement issued to MoreMonmouthMusings:

“All governments have a duty to protect everyone and I am unequivocally opposed to acts of violence against anyone,” Smith said, “All individuals, including LGBT persons, should be treated with respect and compassion.”

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Mater Dei Prep to close in June

Marter Dei Prep, the Catholic High School affiliated with St.Mary Parish in Middletown will close due to financial losses at the conclusion of the current school year, according to a press release issued today by Father Jeff Kegley, Pastor of the parish.

“It is with great sadness that I inform you that Mater Dei Prep will close at the end of this school year, June 2015. Over the many years, Mater Dei Prep has been running large financial deficits. It had been the hope of the Parish Finance Council and myself that these trends could be reversed. However, the 2014-2015 projected loss is close to one million dollars,” Kegley said.

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Monmouth Legislators Ask DHS To Justify Ebola Facility At Fort Monmouth

The 11th and 13th district legislators representing much of Monmouth County including the communities host Fort Monmouth sent a letter to Department of Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Valez Esq. this afternoon asking for the legal and practical justification for quarantining individuals that may have been exposed to the Ebola virus at Fort Monmouth at a time when New Jersey is marketing the property as a place for businesses to grow, create jobs and to serve as an area for new housing opportunities for people who have not been exposed to Ebola.

The letter signed by State Senators Joseph Kyrillos and Jennifer Beck and Assembly Members Amy Handlin, Declan O’Scanlon, Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande was printed on Kyrillos’s letterhead.  The letter can be viewed here.

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Water main break caused road and bridge closure in Oceanport and Little Silver

A water main break on Oceanport Ave at the County Bridge S-25 has caused an emergency closure between Silverside Ave in Little Silver and Main St. in Oceanport, according to a statement released by the Monmouth County Department of Tourism and Public Information.

Tricia Ring Wadja of the Information Office told MMM that the bridge will reopen today at 2PM and will be open with an alternate lane traffic feed tomorrow, February 4.

New Jersey American Water Company is performing the emergency repair work, which is expected to be completed tomorrow afternoon.

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