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Governor Christie Press Briefing in Somerset

Posted: November 8th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Smith, Christie Administration, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Governor Christie Press Briefing in Somerset

A letter to Sandy survivors

By Kathleen Koch

Welcome to the survivors’ club.  Whether you lost your belongings, your car, your home, a loved one or your entire neighborhood, you are not a victim and don’t let anyone label you that way.  You are not helpless.  You will get through this.

In the disaster zone, your brain won’t want to process what your eyes are seeing. You will see, hear and smell things you never thought you would.  It will feel like you’re in a dream or on a movie set, because this simply can’t be the place where you lived.

You will feel like an ant trying to move a mountain.  Don’t be paralyzed into inaction by the enormity of the task ahead of you.  It can be done.  Just keep moving.  Any forward progress, even in baby steps, is good.

Salvage what you can.  The smallest items will be precious reminders of the past. But recognize what is beyond repair and as painful as it is, throw it out.  If you can’t, have someone else do it for you.

Don’t punish yourself or those you love because you (or they) did not store your family photos in the attic, move the car, save your vital papers, evacuate, buy flood insurance.  What’s done is done.   Let it go.

You are on autopilot now.  Your adrenaline is pumping as you figure out where to live, find food, buy gasoline.  You will get used to standing in lines.  Use that time to bond with others who are on the same journey.  Anger and frustration help no one.

Respect the rules of a disaster zone.  Don’t cut in line.  Defer to the young and the old who are most vulnerable at these times.  Just because property is sitting in the middle of a street or dangling from a tree branch does not mean it’s free for the taking.  It belongs to someone.  Stack salvageable items where neighbors can see them and potentially reclaim their lost property.

“How’s your house?” will become the new greeting when you see friends and neighbors.  You will have a new way of marking time — pre-Sandy and post-Sandy. The definition of the word “home” will expand to include a shelter, a couch, a garage, a friend’s basement.

Disasters are great equalizers.  They reveal people’s true nature — for better or for worse.  You will find out who your real friends are and what love really means. Incredible acts of kindness will come from unexpected quarters.  Beware of the few who seek to profit from the misery of others.

Feel the pain.  Cry if you need to.  Hug each other.  Share what you have.  Know that you are not alone, because volunteers by the thousands are on their way. Their selfless generosity will renew your faith in your fellow man.

Your instinct will be to rebuild an exact replica of what was, down to the last brick, board and beam.  Consider carefully whether that is wise or even possible.  Seek out ways to prevent future damage by rebuilding higher, smarter, stronger and further from the water.  See this as an opportunity.

Accept the new normal.  The past is just that.  You can cherish the place you and your neighbors once called home where it will always exist — in your collective memories.

Kathleen Koch is a former CNN correspondent who covered Hurricane Katrina and wrote Rising from Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It  All and Found What Mattered.

Posted: November 8th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments »

Christie Announces Hurricane Recovery Assistance For New Jersey Businesses

Trenton, NJ –To support the recovery of New Jersey’s businesses and protect the overall economic interests of our state in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno have announced a series of business assistance services for those affected by the storm.  Among these vital services are those related to financial support, information on temporary space, and technical assistance for impacted businesses.  Information for all services may be easily accessed through New Jersey’s Business Action Center (BAC) by calling 1-866-534-7789 or through the state’s business portal at www.newjerseybusiness.gov, the“one-stop” shop for business resources. Agents are also available to assist callers that speak Spanish.

 

“In response to this natural disaster, New Jersey has coordinated a range of multi-agency resources to assist impacted businesses and ensure they are operational quickly,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno. “Providing a thorough and inter-departmental business recovery assistance program is another demonstration of our support for our business community and their workers. The Business Action Center can help businesses tap into a variety of resources that will help them begin to recover from this catastrophic storm.”

 

The business recovery assistance services are designed to support businesses and workers who may be temporarily unable to perform their jobs due to the storm.  These services include:

 

  • Guarantees of up to $500,000 for     commercial lines of credit to businesses that need access to cash to     improve their damaged property while awaiting insurance proceeds, with all     related New Jersey Economic Development Authority fees waived.
  • Grant awards for businesses to     assist with on-the-job training costs for new workers hired specifically     to assist in disaster-related activities, such as landscaping and tree     removal, construction, insurance claims, building supplies sales,     materials transport, utility work, call and claims centers staffing, and     infrastructure clearing and repair.
  • Availability of the Business     Resource Centers at any of the currently operational local One-Stop Career     Centers across the state as temporary hubs for businesses to access     telephone and internet services as well as for job seekers and     displaced workers seeking workforce development and unemployment     assistance – Temporary Hubs     for Affected Business to Access Telephones and Internet Services
  • The availability of Disaster     Unemployment Benefits to provide income security for those displaced     workers suffering temporary storm-related job loss.
  • Dispatch of Rapid Response team     members to identified Disaster Recovery Centers to assist displaced     workers.
  • Availability of services throughNew Jersey Youth Corps to assist non-profit, public and governmental     entities in a variety of ways for disaster relief and clean-up.

 

In addition, BAC’s Business Call Center is also the one-stop resource for more information on how to get businesses back up and running.  The Call Center staff can assist with the following services:

 

  • Arranging business facility inspections for buildings suffering major flood damage, as such conditions require structural integrity inspections before utility service can be restored.  These inspections are handled in local code enforcement offices and by local code enforcement officials.   Anticipating an enormous increase in such work, the Department of Community Affairs has mobilized all qualified personnel to assist local governments in this effort.
  • Advocating for businesses seeking information from local utilities to restore electric, phone, gas and water services.
  • Advocating with insurance carriers to file and expedite claims.
  • Providing information on how to qualify for federal recovery assistance, and
  • Connecting businesses to the other county and local business services and to the services offered by the Small Business Administration and Small Business Development Centers that include assistance with insurance claims, as well as loans and business plan revisions.

 

Since October 28, 2012, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (OHSP) has staffed a Private Sector Desk at the Regional Intelligence Operations Center (ROIC), which has served as the primary point of contact for critical private sector industries leading up to, during and after Hurricane Sandy.  OHSP staff operating the Private Sector Desk at the ROIC can be reached at 609-963-6810.

 

For further information about best practices in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, please visit www.ready.nj.gov for continual updates.

Posted: November 7th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Christie Administration, FEMA, Hurricane Sandy, Press Release | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments »

Governor Christie’s Hurricane Sandy Briefing in Westwood

Posted: November 6th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Governor Christie’s Hurricane Sandy Briefing in Westwood

America Needs A New Direction

By Scott Sipprelle

It’s been nearly a week since Hurricane Sandy made landfall, but no one can yet gauge how this calamity has affected the national psyche, and the outcome of a major election. Here is what I think…

 

When you see your fellow citizens struggling in horribly devastated communities and preyed upon by looters after dark, you begin to wonder if perhaps we have taken too much for granted in this country. When you consider our shocking inability to turn the lights back on, you wonder what the government is actually doing with your money. Perhaps it begins to dawn on folks that the politicians have pampered us with a false sense of entitlement, but when the wind starts howling, you are on your own. Perhaps we will re-learn that the central function of government is the safety and welfare of its citizens. And government cannot perform that function well if our finances are saddled with the cost of bloated past promises. Perhaps we will cherish anew the value of thrift and hard work and never again take our good fortune for granted. For only a prosperous country can be charitable in the support of its citizens. America needs a new direction.

Posted: November 5th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 Presidential Politics, Hurricane Sandy, Scott Sipprelle | Tags: , , | 2 Comments »

Governor Christie’s Hurricane Sandy Briefing in Keansburg

Posted: November 5th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, Hurricane Sandy, Keansburg, Monmouth County | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Governor Christie’s Hurricane Sandy Briefing in Keansburg

Photos taken at Keansburg Boardwalk

Photos by Rich Grygutis

Posted: November 5th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Hurricane Sandy, Keansburg | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments »

SNL Spoofs Christie, Bloomberg and White People

http://youtu.be/8TFuOW4wHDo?t=2m20s

Posted: November 5th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Hurricane Sandy, SNL | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on SNL Spoofs Christie, Bloomberg and White People

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore’s Update

Clean-up of areas affected by Hurricane Sandy continues. Crews will continue picking up bulk items throughout affected areas of the community daily.

Crews will return to streets as many times as needed to collect all items. You may also take bulky items to the three designated locations – Greely Park in Port Monmouth, Belford Park in Belford and Kunkel Park in Leonardo.

A brush pick up schedule will soon be released. You may begin placing brush at the curb now. Please put all brush in a safe location and do not block sidewalks and the roadway.

For those who need shelter or emergency relief items such as clothing or food can go to Croydon Hall at 900 Leonardville Road. For those wishing to donate the most requested items are new socks and undergarments for adults and children cleaning supplies, bleach, trash bags, shovels, gloves and household batteries of all sizes.

For those who would like to make a monetary donation, we’ve established an organization called the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund. Tax deductible Donations can be sent to Mayor’s Office, Town Hall, 1 Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748

JCP&L has provided the Governor with a municipal restoration update. Check their website for details.

Posted: November 5th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Hurricane Sandy, Middletown, Tony Fiore | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore’s Update

Christie Administration Announces E-Mail and Fax Voting For New Jerseyans Displaced by Sandy

Already Available to Military and Overseas Voters, State Opens Electronic Voting System to Make Voting More Accessible to Citizens Displaced by Hurricane Sandy and First Responders Assisting in Recovery Efforts

Trenton, NJ –The New Jersey Department of State has issued a directive today to county elections officials to permit New Jersey registered voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote electronically. This directive also is intended to assist displaced first responders, whose tireless recovery efforts away from home has made voting a challenge.

 

“This has been an extraordinary storm that has created unthinkable destruction across our state and we know many people have questions about how and where to cast their vote in Tuesday’s election. To help alleviate pressure on polling places, we encourage voters to either use electronic voting or the extended hours at county offices to cast their vote,” said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. “Despite the widespread damage Hurricane Sandy has caused, New Jersey is committed to working through the enormous obstacles before us to hold an open and transparent election befitting our state and the resiliency of its citizens.”

 

To vote electronically, displaced voters may submit a mail-in ballot application either by e-mail or fax to their county clerk. Once an application is approved, the clerk will electronically send a ballot to the voter by either fax or e-mail in accordance to the voter’s preference. Voters must return their electronic ballot – by fax or email – no later than November 6, 2012, at 8 p.m.

 

Voters can download a mail-in ballot application for their county by visiting http://nj.gov/state/elections/voting-information-vote-by-mail.html. A list of county clerk websites, phone numbers and fax numbers are available by visiting http://nj.gov/state/elections/voting-information-local-officials.html.

 

Separate directives issued today enable displaced voters and first responders to vote by provisional ballot at a polling place in a county other than the voter’s county of registration. The deadline for county clerks to receive mail-in ballots has been extended to November 19, 2012, for any ballot postmarked on or before November 5, 2012. Mail-in ballots post marked later than November 5 will not be accepted.

 

County elections officials have also been directed to print a sufficient number of provisional and emergency ballots to accommodate voters.

 

Voters are encouraged to take advantage of extended office hours at county elections offices to cast their vote early and in-person.  Registered voters can obtain and cast their ballot in-person at their county elections office up until 3 pm Tuesday.  County election offices are to remain open, at a minimum, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm throughout the weekend, until November 5.  Voters that have a mail-in ballot and choose to deliver their ballot to the county elections office in person must present their completed ballot to their county elections office no later than the close of polls on Tuesday.

 

Information is also available by calling 1-877-NJVOTER.

Posted: November 4th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Christie Administration, Elections, Hurricane Sandy, Press Release, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »