Iran, world powers agree nuclear deal

Iran, world powers agree nuclear deal (via AFP)

World powers on Sunday reached an agreement with Iran over its nuclear programme, their chief negotiator Catherine Ashton and Iran’s foreign minister said. “We have reached agreement between E3+3 and Iran,” Ashton’s spokesman Michael Mann quoted her…

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New Jersey Gold Star Family Monument Planned In 2014 at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Holmdel

By Bob English

Plans are well underway to build a monument that will be located on the property of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Holmdel, which will honor the sacrifices of families who have lost a loved one in defense of the United States.  The project is being spearheaded by the New Jersey Run For The Fallen.  Hopes are to have the New Jersey Gold Star Family Monument in place and dedicated by the middle of 2014.

The monument will serve as a place of reflection and remembrance for all but especially for those whose loved one made the ultimate sacrifice for their county.  Gold Star parents Ken and Helen Gurbisz of Eatontown are co-chairing the committee to develop a design, fund and build the monument.  Mr. Gurbisz noted that “We are getting very close to a final design which we hope to unveil at the Gold Star Mothers holiday luncheon on the 7th of December.” .

Ken and Helen be reached via e-mail at [email protected]   Donations to complete the project are needed and can be made by mailing a check to:

The New Jersey Gold Star Family Monument Foundation, Inc.

PO Box 104

Holmdel, NJ 07733

Click on this link to make a donation via PayPAL (PayPal account not required.)

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Kids ride free on Seastreak

Children aged 12 or under cruise to New York on Seastreak for free when accompanied by a full fare paying adult, under a promotion that lasts through Memorial Day by the sponsor of our weekly Things to do in Monmouth County feature.

Seastreak is encouraging families to explore New York during the winter months. During these trips, Seastreak’s ferry service from Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey will be docking at Pier 11 and at East 35th Street in New York City, which will provide access to attractions such as Grand Central Station’s Train Show or Radio City Music Hall during the holidays.

The scenery on the cruise to New York from Sandy Hook Bay is itself a fabulous attraction.

Seastreak has 13 departure times from New Jersey to New York on weekdays and five departure times on weekends.  A complete schedule is available online at http://seastreak.com/nynjschedules.aspx.

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Typhoon Haiyan: Day 17

By Ernesto Cullari

Janine Cinseruli and Kimberly Perkins of Seagrass Restaurant, 68 Main Ave in Ocean Grove, are sponsoring a benefit dinner on behalf of Street Kids Philippine Missions on Wednesday December 4^th at 6pm. Tickets are $50 each, cocktail hour is from 6pm to 7pm. Act now, there are only 35 more dinner reservations left. Artist Roddy Wildeman has donated a magnificent piece for auction that was inspired and constructed from debris and found wood following Hurricane Sandy. To register for the dinner Online add Ernesto Cullari on Facebook.

We all remember what it was like to live through Hurricane Sandy and the days that followed without heat or electricity. The long lines for gas and food were humbling. My friends and I would boil water and pour it in with cold bath water whenever any of us needed to wash up. We wandered about in the dark with flashlights and battery operated radios. Hot coffee and cooked food was truly splendid. We helped each other by using Facebook to figure out which stations had gasoline or who needed clothing. We rescued each other.

A year later many of you are still recovering from construction or dealing with insurance companies that don’t want to honor their obligations to you. Now take everything you experienced, every hardship and every setback and put yourself in the position of someone living in the Third world, a place like the Philippines. The islands are so vast and numerous, it could take many years before their government reaches them with significant help. By then it will be too late.

I went 10 days without electricity following Hurricane Sandy. What takes 10 days here could realistically take 6 months where my mother is in the Philippines. My mother Lee who operates Street Kids Philippine Missions, an orphanage filled with 27 children and teens in Bohol, has estimated that it could take 6 months for electricity to be restored to their part of the island.

My mother reports that lines for clean drinking water, a badly needed necessity, are 3 hours long. “Everything is 3 times as expensive now because all the store operators must use gas or diesel generators to keep the refrigerators and lights on,” she said. They must wash their clothes by hand and hope that their clothing can manage to dry before becoming mildewy from the Philippine’s intensely humid climate.

In spite of their hardships and the devastation that surrounds them, my step dad Matt writes with joy and optimism:

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Booker, Menendez vote yes on historic “nuclear option”

Booker, Menendez vote yes on historic “nuclear option” (via NJ.com)

New Jersey’s two senators were among 52 votes in the upper chamber today in favor of the so-called “nuclear option” eliminating the filibuster and allowing a simple majority to approve executive and judicial branch appointments. The ‘majority rules’…

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JFK

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Scott Walker stands up for Chris Christie’s conservative credentials, report says

Scott Walker stands up for Chris Christie’s conservative credentials, report says (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — At least one prominent Republican isn’t buying the idea that Gov. Chris Christie is a moderate. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker defended Christie in the wake of criticism that the New Jersey governor isn’t conservative enough for some Republicans…

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Bennett: Supreme Court Decision Does Not Apply To His Oceanport Job

Ethics Expert Disagrees

John Bennett. Photo credit: Rhoda Chodosh

Monmouth County Republican Chairman John O. Bennett said that a State Supreme Court Opinion written in 2000 by Justice Daniel J. O’Hern that states that the positions of Borough Attorney and Borough Administrator may not be held by the same person does not apply to his job in Oceanport.

In re ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, DOCKET NO. 18-98, the Court ruled 5-2, to affirm an ACPE opinion that Gregory C. Hart could not serve the Bergen County Borough of Old Tappan as both attorney and administrator.

We respect the wishes of the Borough to engage for its day to day management an attorney in whom it has reposed great trust and confidence. Likewise, we respect the attorney who is certain that his integrity would assure an unfettered exercise of judgment in either capacity. Yet we must fashion a rule that will apply equally as well in more demanding circumstances, as in a fast-growing suburban community. It asks too much for an individual to be able to give objective advice to the municipality without being materially limited by the “lawyer’s own interest” as the subject of the inquiry.

For these reasons, we hold that one attorney may not hold both the position of municipal attorney and clerk-administrator for the same municipality. As modified, the advisory opinion of the ACPE is affirmed.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Bennett said he became aware of the Opinion after his appointment as Acting Administrator in Oceanport earlier this month, but that he did not believe it would prevent him from holding both positions on a permanent basis.

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Marlboro Police searching for missing autistic man

Marlboro Police searching for missing autistic man (via NewsWorks)

Marlboro Police are searching for an autistic man who has been missing since late Tuesday night. Michael Karwan, described as a high-functioning autistic 19-year-old, left has house after an argument with his parents, wearing a black jacket, blue jeans…

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Christie Administration Reflects on Sandy Recovery Progress and Challenges

Christie Administration Reflects on Sandy Recovery Progress and Challenges (via NJSpotlight)

When Sandy made landfall last October, displacing 120,000 from their homes, NJ Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable said his department took immediate action to provide shelters and assist towns with their budgetary problems…

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