Belmar won’t disclose where FEMA money is, Resident sues for records

Where is the $5.4 million that Matt Doherty claimed FEMA gave Belmar for Taylor Pavilion?

Gov Chris Christie and his favorite mayor, Matt Doherty of Belmar, on the boardwalk celebrating Sandy recovery.

The ongoing controversy over the rebuilding of the beach pavilions in Belmar has resulted in yet another law suit filed against the Borough by an activist resident calling for fiscal responsibility and transparency.

Joy DeSanctis filed suit last week against Belmar and Borough Clerk April Claudio in her capacity as Custodian of Records.  DeSanctis is not seeking money, other than her legal fees.  Rather, she is asking the Court to Order Belmar and Claudio to comply with the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and provide copies of all correspondence between Belmar and FEMA regarding Superstorm Sandy Funds and correspondence regarding the construction of the pavilions between October 29, 2012 and February 5, 2016, the date that DeSanctis filed her OPRA request.

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Citing ‘privacy,’ state won’t say what killed stranded dolphin: report

The state Department of Agriculture has denied a request under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act for information on the cause of death of a dolphin that swam into a Middlesex County river in August. And the state’s reasons for doing so involve a surprising interpretation of the law. Muckrock.com, a collaborative news site that maintains… Read the rest of this entry »

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Cory Booker is a good story teller

In the video below of Cory Booker addressing the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy in 2010, the mayor recounts how his father’s stories get better (or worse, depending on the point of the story) the more often he told them.

Good story telling to make a point, or move an audience or teach a lesson, either in a conference room, college graduation, church or family dinner table, is a trait Booker apparently inherited from his father.

At the 14 minute mark of the video, Booker tells the story of “the lowest point” of his life. Wazn Miller’s murder in 2004.

In the version of the story told at ACS, Miller doesn’t die in Booker’s arms.

Booker gave basically the same talk at NYU Law in October of 2010. In that version, Booker was present when Miller died.  He starts the Miller story at the 6:30 mark and speaks of the death at the 8 minute mark.

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