O’Scanlon slams Murphy for holding up Monmouth Park sport betting.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, blasted Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Racing Commission for standing in the way of Monmouth Park from taking sports bets this weekend.

“There are two aspects to the administration’s actions. The first is that they are taking their time to sign the legislation, and the second is that they are standing in the way of Monmouth Park opening while taking that time,” said O’Scanlon said in a press release this afternoon. “The Governor claims he needs to review this legislation before signing it, but there is no practical reason why Monmouth Park cannot start accepting wagers while that’s happening–the sky won’t fall, lions won’t roam the streets, locusts won’t ravage our fields. There is absolutely zero likelihood of any negative impact of Monmouth Park opening today. That being the case, one has to wonder about the motivation here. It’s disturbing.”

“The legislature came together in a bipartisan manner to get this done correctly and quickly. All of that bipartisan effort has been brought to a screeching and frankly irrational halt by the actions of the administration.”

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Asbury Park Police seek assistance in locating missing 13 year old girl

UPDATE: Jhasyiah has been located!
The Asbury Park Police Department is seeking help from the public in locating Jhasyiah Torres, 13.   Read the rest of this entry »

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Snapchat with Governor Murphy

Moments ago Governor Phil Murphy invited the twitterverse to get updated on his behind the scenes activities via Snapchat.

Add me on Snapchat for a behind the scenes look at our state government. pic.twitter.com/CbAZIV3hms

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) June 8, 2018

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Murphy puts the brakes on sports betting at NJ racetracks despite legislature’s green light

Don’t count on placing a bet on the NBA Finals or the Yankees/Mets subway series games this weekend at Monmouth Park.  Governor Phil Murphy has not signed the bill regulating sports betting that passed the legislature unanimously yesterday and the New Jersey Racing Commission, which Murphy controls, warned the state’s three tracks not to take bets before he does, according to a NJ.com report.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the nationwide sports betting ban, except for Nevada, Dennis Drazin of Monmouth Park announced he was prepared to start taking bets at the William Hill Race and Sports Bar on Memorial Day. New Jersey already had a law on the books, and a state constitutional amendment, that allows sports betting, so with the federal ban overturned by SCOTUS, there was no legal barrier to accepting bets.

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Marlboro Amends Its Parking Ordinance

Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik announced today that the Township has amended its parking ordinance to accommodate residents traveling to New York City on evenings and weekends.

Parking is now free of charge from the hours of 6:30 p.m. till 4:30 a.m Monday through Friday and throughout the weekends at the Union Hill Commuter Park and Ride, the lot at Cambridge Square and the spots marked “commuter spaces” at Costco/Texas Road. Read the rest of this entry »

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400 + Enthusiastic Monmouth Republicans Rally At Bar A

Over 400 Monmouth County Republicans and guests from throughout New Jersey gathered at Bar A in Lake Como on Wednesday night for the 9th Annual Summer Kickoff hosted by Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon.

U.S Senate nominee Bob Hugin and NJ GOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt were on hand to celebrate Hugin’s decisive victory (and Senator Bob Menendez’s poor performance) in the primary the previous day.

Summer in Monmouth started with a bang at their 9th annual Kickoff to Summer Event. Great to be with you all last night! #SummerNights #NJSen pic.twitter.com/ri07wqfTc9

— Bob Hugin (@BobHugin) June 7, 2018

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Sports Betting Can Commence At Monmouth Park

O’Scanlon Praises Bi-partisan Cooperation

Legal barriers to sports betting at Monmouth Park were removed today thanks to a bi-partisan effort lead by Senator Declan O’Scanlon, according to an announcement by the NJ Senate Republicans.

The legislation to regulate sports betting was amended today to remove a provision which would have barred any entity that takes sports bets in NJ prior to the bill becoming law from getting a sports betting license. The amended bill passed both houses of the legislature and now goes to Governor Phil Murphy for his signature. Concerns were raised earlier this week that Murphy would hold up signing the bill as part of budget negotiations with the legislature.

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O’Scanlon and DiMaso Urge Removal of Punitive Language From Sports Betting Bill

The William Hill Sports Race & Sports Book at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (both R-Monmouth) today urged the Legislature to remove punitive language which would discourage sports betting from commencing operations prior to the approval of regulatory framework legislation.

“We understand the motivation to level the playing field which was the apparent goal of this language in the bill, however that goal was achieved already—sports betting has been held off for weeks,” said O’Scanlon. “This language only serves to enable sports betting to get caught up in the complicated—and apparently contentious—budget battle. The Legislature needs to amend, move, and pass this legislation by tomorrow without any unnecessary punitive language.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Welle Underperforms Against Keady, Smith Overperforms Unopposed

By Art Gallagher

While much of the media is reporting how poorly U.S. Senator Bob Menendez performed in the  Democrat primary yesterday, I couldn’t miss how poorly Josh Welle, address none of your business, performed against former Asbury Park Councilman Jim Keady, Spring Lake, in the 4th congressional district primary.

With all three county party lines, more money and the endorsement of his former landlord, State Senator and honorary volunteer firefighter Vin Gopal, Welle only got 57% of the vote against Keady’s 43%.

Congressman Chris Smith, Hamilton, overperformed expectations, especially given that he was unopposed in the CD-4 Republican primary.

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Greg’s List: Things to Do in Monmouth County This Weekend, June 8-10, 2018

By Greg Kelly

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Friday, June 8

• Oh What a Night of Doo Wop & Rock N Roll at Count Basie Theatre (Red Bank) – MORE INFO
• Canterbury Fair (Rumson) – MORE INFO
• Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical at Axlerod PAC (Deal) – MORE INFO
• Doo-Wop and Rock N’ Roll at Count Basie Theatre (Red Bank) – MORE INFO
• Bayshore Greek Fest (Holmdel) – MORE INFO
• Denis Coughlin & Belmar Blvd. (Belmar) – MORE INFO
• Bluegrass Mini Golf at MP (Oceanport) – MORE INFO
• Simulcast Racing at Monmouth Park (Oceanport) – MORE INFO

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