Christie Town Hall in Long Branch on Tuesday August 19

Govenor Chris Christie at his Belmar Town Hall on July 31

Governor Chris Christie will continue his Jersey Shore “No Pain, No Gain” tour with a stop in Long Branch next Tuesday at the Long Branch Amphitheater on McKinley Ave. 

The event is scheduled to start at 3PM.   The Governor’s Office requests RSVPs at  [email protected] .

Christie was rained out in Long Branch on July 15th.

Christie has been informing the public and about the pension and benefit crisis the State is facing during his summer tour.  He promises to announce a plan for pension and benefit reform sometime in the early fall.

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Unaccompanied Central American Children Showing Up In Freehold

Read this update: CASA FREEHOLD DIRECTOR: There is no influx on Central American Youth in Freehold

Senator Jennifer Beck working with federal officials and Governor to handle the crisis

Between 5 and 10 Central American children, ages 11-16, who have crossed our borders without adults have found their way to Freehold Borough, according to a statement by Rita Dentino, Director of Casa Freehold, an immigrants rights organization that helps newly arrived immigrants integrate into the community.

Dentino said that more children are arriving everyday, according to a report in the Sentinal.

State Senator Jennifer Beck issued a statement today saying she is working with federal and state officials to secure funding to deal with the situation and to evaluate New Jersey’s legal options and obligations.

“This is an issue with far ranging implications that is being experienced all across the country. I am working closely with federal representatives and the Governor’s Office to fully understand our legal options and obligations. I am hopeful that money will come from the federal government as part of an overall response to this issue. There are real humanitarian, fiscal and capacity concerns so all decisions must be fully vetted. I will continue to communicate openly with local officials to keep all appraised of our progress.”

Published reports indicate that over 1,500 Central American children have arrived in New Jersey.  The federal government operates only one 10 bed facility in the State, and none of the children are housed there.

Dentino told the Sentinal that she would be contacting DYFS (Division of Youth and Family Services) to begin the process of finding the children guardians.

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O’Scanlon joins Oceanport’s fight against crematorium

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon said he supports the Borough of Oceanport’s efforts to prevent a crematorium from being built in a residential neighborhood.

“I am concerned with the process and the minimal amount of communication,” said O’Scanlon.  “The fact that the only public notification of this pending permit was published in the Home News Tribune, which is not even distributed in the Borough, is hardly adequate notice.”

“I have seconded the municipal request for a public hearing so that all the facets of this permit request can be discussed and the residents have an opportunity to voice their concerns,” O’Scanlon explained. “Projects such as this should never be implemented behind closed doors. I plan on remaining involved in this issue to see that all concerns are addressed.”

Oceanport Borough Administrator John Bennett was surprised last week when he was informed by the Department of Environmental Protection that Woodbine Cemetery had applied for an Air Pollution Control permit.  As Acting Governor in 2002, Bennett signed legislation that required crematoriums be approved by the governing bodies of the municipalities where they were proposed.  That legislation was repealed in 2011. The current law gives the New Jersey Cemetery Board the authority to approve crematorium construction permits. The majority of the Cemetery Board is comprised of owners or managers of cemeteries.

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Marlboro Council Passes Political Sign Restrictions

Over the objections of citizens who urged them not to restrict their 1st Amendment Rights and to avoid expensive litigation, the Marlboro Township Council unanimously passed an ordinance that prohibits the placement of temporary political signs on public property and rights of way, limits the time before and after an election that signs may appear on private property and rights of way adjacent to private property, and regulates the size of signs and the distance they may appear from each other on private property.

At the request of Councilman Frank LaRocca, the ordinance was amended to eliminate the imposition of a 90 day jail sentence for violating the ordinance.  Candidates, Committee Chairmen, Campaign Treasurers and private property owners now face fines ranging from $100 to $1250 if signs appear more than 45 days before an election, 7 days after an election or if signs promoting the same candidate are posted within 50 feet of each other on the same property.  The total square footage of all political signs on any one tax lot must not exceed 16 square feet.

Matthew Rasmussen, an attorney representing the Marlboro Republican Committee told the council during the public hearing prior to the adoption of the ordinance that it contained numerous “constitutional infirmities, some of them fatal” and urged the governing body to defeat the ordinance in order to avoid expensive litigation that they would certainly lose.

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“Unlike” News12

By Art Gallagher

News12 New Jersey has effectively fired reporter Sean Bergin for telling the truth.

In a report about Jersey City Police Officer Melvin Santiago’s murder, Bergin went off script and closed the segment by saying, “The underlying cause of all of this, of course: Young black men growing up without fathers. Unfortunately, no one in the news media has the courage to touch that subject.”

News12 executives responded by proving Bergin’s point about the spineless media. They suspended him and then offered him a one day a week job, for $300 per week, covering fluff like broken fire hydrants or other inane subjects.  They covered their asses by saying the discipline was for breaking company policy.  Bergin turned them down and quit.

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Two River Times Is Sold

Domenic DiPiero, the new owner of the Two River Times. photo via uhnj.org

RedBankGreen is reporting that the news weekly, The Two River Times‘s, ownership has changed hands.

Domenic DiPiero, founder and president of Newport Capital Group bought the paper from Mickey Gooch, founder and president of GFI Group under terms that have not been disclosed.

DiPiero is a lifelong Two Rivers area resident, according to an announcement of the paper’s sale posted on it’s website on Monday.

“I look forward to continuing the great tradition that The Two River Times has built. I want the newspaper to continue to be a source of pride and news in the community,” DiPiero said, according to the TRT announcement.

Gooch, and his now ex-wife Diane, bought the paper from Geraldo Rivera in 2004.

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Marlboro GOP Poised To Challenge New Sign Ordinance

A proposed Marlboro temporary sign ordinance on the agenda for adoption by the Township Council on Thursday evening July 17 has Marlboro Republicans contemplating a federal court challenge should the all Democratic Council enact the measure.

Mayor Jon Hornik, named the best mayor in New Jersey in an unscientific PolitickerNJ poll earlier this month after the Township’s resident email list was used to rally online votes, told MMM that political signs create clutter and traffic safety issues in the Township and that his administration has been working on an solution that protects free speech rights while improving public safety since 2008.  “It’s not just local races, but every level…county, state, and federal.  Marlboro gets littered with campaign signs every fall,” Hornik said, “It is a safety issue that has gotten worse since the Board of Education elections were moved to November. The council has been working hard to make sure the safety and clutter issues are addressed while at the same time protecting free speech rights.  I will support what they come up with.”

The proposed ordinance, which can be found here, would prohibit temporary political signs on Township property and public rights of way, with the exception of rights of way adjacent to private property (that strip of land between sidewalks and curbs), regulate the size of signs to 16 square feet, and allow signs to be placed on private property only 45 days prior to an election or event and seven days after an election. Candidates, Committee Chairmen, Campaign Treasurers and private property owners with signs on rights of way adjacent to their property would be subject to fines ranging from$100 to $1250 and/or 90 days in jail for violations.

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Handlin Wants SCI To Investigate Allegations That Fulop Planned Traffic Jams At Holland Tunnel and Port Jersey

Jersey City Police Chief Robert Cowan has responded to his announced demotion by Mayor Steve Fulop by alleging that the mayor order traffic jams at Port Jersey and the Holland Tunnel.   That Cowan objected and interfered is the reason he is being demoted, he says, according to reports in the Jersey Journal.

Fulop announced plans to sue the Port Authority of NY/NJ for $400 million. Cowan’s attorney said Fulop’s plan was “designed solely to create havoc for the Port Authority.”

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Middletown) wants the joint legislative committee that is investigating the September 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures to investigate the allegations against Fulop as well.

In a letter dated today to Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, Co-Chairs of the New Jersey Select Committee on Investigation,of which Handlin is a member, the assemblywoman asked that the committee immediately issue subpoenas to Fulop and Cowan

As you know, the mission of the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation is to “investigate all aspects of the finances, operations, and management of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and any other matter raising concerns about abuse of government power or an attempt to conceal an abuse of government power including, but not limited to, the reassignment of access lanes in Fort Lee, New Jersey to the George Washington Bridge.”

Because the allegations against Mayor Fulop raise significant concerns about the repeated abuse of government power directly related to the Port Authority, I respectfully ask the committee to investigate this matter including the immediate issuance of subpoenas to Mayor Fulop and Chief Cowan.

Handlin’s letter can be found here.

Fulop is widely considered to be a contender for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2017, or sooner if Governor Chris Christie does not complete his term.

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Christie Town Hall in Long Branch on Tuesday

Governor Chris Christie will hold a Town Hall Conversation in Long Branch on Tuesday afternoon July 15 at 3 p.m, according to an announcement from his office.

The first of several stops along the Jersey Shore this summer, Christie will highlight in budget and reform initiatives and answer questions from New Jerseyans.

The event will be at the Long Branch Amphitheater, 17 McKinley Ave, Long Branch.

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Middletown Police Chief Gets $249K “Boat Check”

Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches. Photo courtesy of Middletown Patch

Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches is getting $249,338 for unused sick and vacation time accumulated over his 40 year career upon his retirement at the end of this month.  The payout is at Oches current pay scale, despite the fact that the time accumulated over a 40 year period.

The Township Committee approved the payment, reluctantly because it is required by State Law, at Monday night’s meeting.

Committeeman Tony Fiore said that most Oches’ unused time was accumulated prior to 1996 when the Township Committee passed a 150 day cap on retirement awards.

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