Clem Sommers, 1929-2020

Former Monmouth County Freeholder Clem Sommers passed away on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. He was 91 years old.

Clem is remembered for a lifetime of service.

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Oceanport Schools Closed Thursday and Friday due to COVID-19 concerns

The Oceanport School District, which is comprised of an elementary school and a middle school, will be closed on Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13, according to an announcement on the district’s website. Read the rest of this entry »

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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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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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Could Bayonne Referendum Cause Oceanport Mayor To Resign?

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis and Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey and Davis’s reelection kickoff

A coming referendum in the City of Bayonne could shake things up in the Borough of Oceanport.

NewJerseyGlobe reports that Bayonne residents will decide via referendum whether appointees of the mayor must live in the City. Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey is the appointed Corporation Counsel of Bayonne.  Should the referendum succeed, which we are told is likely, Coffey would have to choose between the lucrative job and serving as mayor.

How Coffey’s successor is chosen becomes an interesting question, should he resign.  In towns with partisan elections, municipal vacancies are filled by the council or township committee choosing from three candidates submitted by the County Committee of the Party that ran the office holder. Coffey, a registered Democrat, was elected as a write-in candidate.  The Oceanport Democrats did not have an candidate for mayor in 2015 when Coffey unseated Republican Michael Mahon, who was unopposed on the general election ballot. Read the rest of this entry »

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Oceanport Man Charged With Distributing Child Pornography

Kevin A. Long, 27, of Wolfhill Avenue in Oceanport, iwas charged with second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child in connection with the Distribution of Child Pornography and third degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child in connection with the Possession of Child Pornography, according to an announcement by Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Long was arrested following a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and federal Homeland Security Investigations. Evidence collected during the investigation suggests Long may have been engaging in inappropriate conversations with children online. Read the rest of this entry »

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FMERA Chairman Endorses Burry’s Reelection As Freeholder

By James V. Gorman

FMERA Chairman James Gorman and Freeholder Director Lillian Burry commemorate the opening of Rt 537 in Fort Monmouth, Jan 17, 2017 . -photo Art Gallagher

Due to the long term working relationship I have enjoyed with Freeholder Director Lillian Burry, it is my pleasure to endorse and support her re-election to the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Read the rest of this entry »

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Fort Monmouth Reopens Between Eatontown and Oceanport

Freeholder Tom Arnone and Freeholder Director Lillian Burry commemorate the reopening of County Road 537 in Fort Monmouth

Less than two months after Monmouth County financed the purchase of the remaining available acreage of Fort Monmouth, thereby removing federal red tape from the redevelopment decisions of the property, the gates were removed from the entrances on Route 35 in Eatontown and Oceanport Ave in Oceanport as County Road 537 opened for vehicular traffic.

County, state and local officials gathered at the fort on Tuesday morning to commemorate the reopening.

“Government usually doesn’t work this fast.  In Monmouth County it does,” declared Freeholder Tom Arnone as he acknowledged the men and women of the County Department of Public Works and Engineering and their director, John Tobia, for their work in opening the road.

The road was closed to the public in 2011 when the U.S. Army moved the operations of the fort to Aberdeen, Maryland following the 2005 decision by the federal BRAC (base realignment and closure) commission decision to close the historic facility.

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JCP&L Acts to Protect Osprey

photo via JCP&L

Jersey Central Power and Light, the electric utility that services Monmouth County, announced today that they have expanded an environmental program to help protect New Jersey’s threatened ospreys.

The company is surveying their poles and other equipment to determine where osprey are nesting—or have given indication of future nesting–and then building new nesting platforms where the birds will not be in danger due to the proximity to electrical equipment. Specialized equipment is installed to divert and discourage ospreys from nesting in potentially hazardous locations.

Two osprey nests within JCP&L’s Monmouth and Ocean service territories, one in Union Beach and another in Brick, were relocated in 2016.

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The Arnone Report: Fort Monmouth Progress, Monmouth Park needs help

By Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Hello Monmouth County! What an incredible few weeks it has been here throughout our beautiful county. The weather has been near perfect, providing great opportunities to visit all the wonderful places and activities we have to offer.

I have some very exciting news to share about the Former Fort Monmouth property. The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders provided final approval last week to guarantee $35 million in notes and bonds through the Monmouth County Improvement Authority (MCIA). The funding will be used to revitalize the property which has been closed since 2011 and the potential impact of this redevelopment on our residents is enormous. It was the right thing to do for the region.

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