Tropical Storm Joaquin could impact N.J., pose biggest threat since Sandy

Tropical Storm Joaquin formed east of the Bahamas Monday night and could impact New Jersey this weekend, posing the most acute threat from a tropical system since Hurricane Sandy. According to the National Hurricane Center, Joaquin is expected to meander in the Atlantic Ocean for a few days before turning north. If it maintains its forecast… Read the rest of this entry »

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The Arnone Report: Bi-partisan team work yields success with Shark River project

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arnone

After a very long period time and with many notable road blocks and obstacles, I, along with a great team of my colleagues, including Senator Jennifer Beck (R-11), and Neptune Committeeman Randy Bishop, am so happy to announce that the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT’s) Office of Maritime Resources has awarded the bid to complete the Shark River dredging project. The project’s contract was awarded to Mobile Pumping & Dredging Co., of Chester, PA.

This huge step forward is a result of years of work coordinating with the many agencies that have authority over this project. After being involved in this project for more than fifteen years as Mayor of Neptune City and now as a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, I am personally very happy to see this project finally begin.  I have worked with other officials throughout the years whom were also very passionate about this project, including Tom Catley, former Mayor of Neptune Township, as well as other past mayors of the surrounding towns and those in office today. The County has long continued to work cooperatively with these local officials, as well as state and government agencies to move this dredging project forward.

This is a large project, with approximately 106,000 cubic yards of material to be dredged.  With cooperation from the Monmouth County Reclamation Center, which is able to accept and reuse the dredged material, and the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders providing funding, we have made this project a reality. Not one part of the Shark River project was easy or simple, but we found a way to accomplish this.

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$1 million Mega Millions ticket sold in Neptune

A second place $1 million Mega Millions ticket for the Friday September 25th drawing was sold at the Wawa at 1344 Corlies Ave in Neptune Township, according to a statement by the NJ Lottery.

The winning ticket match the five white balls with the numbers  03, 08, 38, 51 and 64.  It did not match the Gold Mega Ball, 4, nor did the player choose the multiplier which, if he or she had, would have boosted the prize to $5 million.

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Cop hospitalized after woman bites officer, and refuses to let go, police say

ABERDEEN — A 25-year-old township woman bit a police officer and “refused to let go” Saturday night after resisting arrest, police said. Several officers responded at around 10 p.m. to a residence on Hawthorne Street in the Cliffwood Beach section of town after receiving a report of a fight, Chief John Powers said in an email.… Read the rest of this entry »

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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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