Shark River Dredging Contract Awarded

The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Office of Maritime Resources has awarded the bid to complete the long awaited Shark River and Shark River Spur Dredging Project to the low bidder, Mobile Pumping & Dredging Co., of Chester, PA. MPD’s bid of $7,649,817.50 was $1.8 million lower than the next closest bidder.

The State of New Jersey will contribute over $5 million to the project. Monmouth County will contribute $1.1 million and Neptune Township has committed $450,000.  Belmar, Neptune City and Wall Township are expected to share the remaining costs of the project, according to a statement isssued by Senator Jennifer Beck,  Freeholder Tom Arnone and Neptune Township Committeeman Randy Bishop.  Beck said the project will start this year, “if all the stars align,” and will be completed by the end of 2016.

“After over two decades, there has finally been a bid awarded to dredge Shark River. Notably, The National Marine Fisheries only allows dredging work from July 1st to December 31st, so I’m happy to see this monumental step taken forward, which, if all the stars align, will allow dredging to begin this year. None of this could have been possible without the work of Freeholder Tom Arnone and Committeeman Randy Bishop, working together in a bipartisan fashion with every state, county, and local stakeholder to make this project happen. While the State is investing more than $5 million, the project couldn’t have moved forward without the assistance of Monmouth County, which is accepting the material at its landfill and helping to fund the trucking. In addition, a number of surrounding municipalities have preliminary agreed to share in the cost of the project” said Beck.

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Rumson Cop Who Beat DWI Charge Is Suing To Get His Job Back

Damien Brennan

Damien Brennan, a former Rumson Police Sergeant, is asking the Monmouth County Superior Court to force the Borough and its Police Department to give him his gun and badge back.

Brennan, 38 of Howell, was terminated on August 11 of this year after an Internal Affairs inquiry into the single-car traffic accident he had on in the early hours of September 20, 2014 when he left the Dublin House in Red Bank to report to his off-duty assignment protecting Bruce Springsteen’s unoccupied Rumson home.   According to reports on RedBankGreen, Brennan crashed his Chevy Camaro into a dumpster behind Fisher Diamonds at the corner of White and Broad Streets.

The Red Bank Police charged Brennan with DWI.   He pleaded guilty to Reckless Driving and received a 60 day drivers license suspension after his attorney, Peter O’Mara, argued that the blood sample evidence taken at Riverview Medical Center after the accident should be ruled inadmissible because the Red Bank Police did not obtain a warrant for the blood, according to RedBankGreen.

In his suit against Rumson, Brennan blamed his car accident on Meniere’s Disease, a disorder of unknown cause that manifests with spontaneous  episodes of vertigo — a sensation of a spinning motion — along with fluctuating hearing loss, ringing in the ear, and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear.

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Feds question $770K in Sandy costs in Asbury Park

ASBURY PARK — A federal audit made public on Wednesday raises questions about more than $770,000 in grant funding Asbury Park spent after Hurricane Sandy, claiming the city did not provide sufficient evidence to support those costs. The city’s chief financial officer, however, said additional documentation has been filed that backs up that spending. The watchdog… Read the rest of this entry »

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Drought watch issued for 12 counties, 6 million people as N.J. water worries worsen

A drought watch has been issued in parts of 12 New Jersey counties, encompassing more than two-thirds of the population, after months of dry, warm weather that have driven the state’s water supply to worryingly low levels. Rainfall totals in parts of northern and central New Jersey have been just over 50 percent of average over… Read the rest of this entry »

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Congressman Smith Announces Grant For Anti-Domestic Violence Program

Congressman Chris Smith announced today that the New Jersey Coalition For Battered Women has been awarded a $82,882 grant by the U.S. Justice Department.

Smith authored the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, the legislation that first authorized the federal program funding this grant.

“The New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women is a valuable resource for women and children across our state who have been victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault and violence,” said Smith. “The NJCBW’s mission is to end violence against women and its work is critical to ensuring women and their families have the resources necessary—and readily available—to break the cycle of domestic violence.”

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Greg’s List: Things to do in Monmouth County this weekend, September 25-27, 2015

By Greg Kelly

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Friday, Sept. 25

• Fall Swap Meet & Auto Show at Raceway Park (Englishtown) – MORE INFO
• Bruce Springsteen: A Photographic Journey at Monmouth U (WLB) – MORE INFO
• Jersey Shore Ghost Tours (Red Bank) – MORE INFO
• New 2 You Kids Fall Consignment Sale at BCC (Lincroft) – MORE INFO
• Second Chances at Grange Playhouse (Howell) – MORE INFO
• Divine Right at Jersey Shore Arts Center Theater (Neptune) – MORE INFO
• August Wilson’s Seven Guitars at TRT (Red Bank) – MORE INFO
• Friends of the Howell Library Used Book Sale – MORE INFO

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Hanlon: Voter registration deadline is October 13

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon is reminding county  resident who are not registered to vote that the deadline to do so and vote on November 3 is October 13, 2015, 21 days before the election.

“I urge everyone to exercise their right to vote and register for the fall elections,” said Hanlon.  “Registration is easy and the right to vote is the cornerstone of our nation’s freedom and continued liberties.”

Residents may register at the Monmouth County Voter Registration Office, 300 Halls Mills Rd., Freehold Township, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  On Tuesday, Oct. 13 the office will remain open until 9 p.m.

You may also register at your Municipal Clerk’s office, call for the hours and the location.

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Scharfenberger presentation on Seacaucus Potter’s Field

When the NJ Turnpike Authority set out to build an extension and exits 15E and 16E on the Turnpike in 2001, a long forgotten cemetery of unmarked graves, a “Potter’s Field,” was discovered on the site known throughout the years as “Snake Hill,”Laurel Hill,” and more recently “Graffiti Hill.”   Dr. Gerry Scharfenberger, PhD, was a member of the team of archaeologists that recovered, identified and re-interred the 4571 bodies that were first buried at the site, as well as over 100,000 historical artifacts.

On Tuesday, October 20, Scharfenberger, a Middletown Township Commiteeman,will be making a fascinating presentation about the site which during the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s was the home of a county jail, a “lunatic” asylum and a tuberculosis asylum.

The event,which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church Street, at 7:30PM until approximately 8:30 p.m.

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N.J. man charged with father’s death after DWI crash

FREEHOLD – A Bergen County man has been charged with vehicular homicide and other offenses in connection to an Aug. 30 crash that killed his father, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Monday. Shortly before 3 p.m. on Aug. 30, 35-year-old Andrew Halder, of Woodcliff Lake, was operating a 2007 Mini Cooper with his… Read the rest of this entry »

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180 Turning Lives Around Receives Federal Grant

180 Turning Lives Around, the Hazlet based non-profit dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence in our community, has been awarded a $255,284 federal Transitional Housing Assistance Program grant, according to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

180 will partner with Long Branch Concordance and contracted service providers to support 10 families in the 180 agency owned scattered site townhomes.

180’s Families in Transition Program provides women and their children with a safe home for up to 18 months. Support services include career counseling, financial management, life skills training and assistance in obtaining housing.

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