County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon Commemorates Ocean Township’s 170th Anniversary

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ – During the Township of Ocean Council Meeting on Feb. 21, Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon made a special presentation to the Mayor and Council to commemorate the Township’s 170^th Anniversary. Clerk Hanlon gave the Mayor and Council a digital reproduction of the first recorded map of the Township which was filed in the Office of the Monmouth County Clerk, 170 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1849.

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Bipartisan Anti-Semitism Taskforce Statement on Tree of Life Synagogue Attack

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Kay Granger (R-TX), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Peter Roskam (R-IL), the Co-Chairs of the House of Representatives Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism, issued the following statement in reaction to the Saturday attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh:

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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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O’Scanlon releases Arbitration Task Force report recommending permanent award cap

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

TRENTON, N.J. – Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon released today the report of the Arbitration Award Task Force as recommended by four of the eight members. The report outlines the success of the arbitration award cap in enabling municipal officials to maintain budgets within the 2 percent property-tax cap and curb property-tax increases to historically low levels, and recommends making the cap on arbitration awards permanent before the policy is scheduled to sunset on Dec. 31.

“The data contained in this report is beyond clear and convincing; it is overwhelming,” said O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). “It would be irresponsible for the Legislature not to take action. In fact, any legislator that fails to advocate for continuation of the arbitration award cap will be, by extension, advocating for the obliteration of the property tax cap and higher property taxes. There is no middle ground here. Mark my words; if the cap isn’t permanently extended taxpayers will unquestionably face much more dramatic property tax increases and cuts to municipal services.”

During a vote Monday to release the report, the task force was deadlocked 4-4. Union representatives blocked the report’s endorsement. O’Scanlon, who voted to release the report, is the only legislator appointed by the governor to sit on the task force. Read the rest of this entry »

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Colts Neck Woman Turns Cancer Diagnosis Into A Mission

Long Branch, NJ  – “I didn’t expect to have cancer. I didn’t have any symptoms,” says Michele Battista, Jersey Shore Undy Run/Walk volunteer and fierce colon cancer advocate. This year marks Battista’s five-year “Cancer-versary,” as she calls the day when she was diagnosed
with cancer. Checking off her list of things to do once she turned 50, she made an appointment with Red Bank Gastroenterology for a routine colonoscopy. It was during that appointment, she was diagnosed with stage 3c colon cancer at the age of 50.

“It’s bittersweet. Today seems so far away from when I first heard the words ‘you have cancer’, five years ago,” says Battista as she reflects on her Cancer-versary. She is now cancer-free and continually advocating for colon cancer patients and survivors through her work with Colon Cancer Alliance, an organization dedicated to knocking colon cancer out of the top three cancer killers by championing prevention, funding cutting-edge research and providing the highest quality patient support services.

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Guadagno Applauds Air Forces’s Choice of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst For Refueling Jets

Trenton, NJ – Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today applauded the Air Force’s decision to begin basing new KC-46A Pegasus air-refueling tankers at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in the 2021 fiscal year. This decision will accelerate an infusion of military construction at the Joint Base and prioritizes Joint Base receipt of the aircraft at a time when the Administration is requesting a new base closure round in 2021.

“The Air Force decision is good news for the State of New Jersey and for our national security,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno.  “It is a tribute to the outstanding Air Force and Air National Guard airmen and the important missions they perform.”

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Freeholders Kickoff Monmouth County Tourism Season

Freeholders Tom Arnone, John P. Curley and Serena DiMaso were joined by kindergartener Tiegan Caldwell from Bradley Beach Elementary School for the unveiling of the new Monmouth County Tourism Logo

BRADLEY BEACH, NJ –Overlooking the beach and breaking surf, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and local civic leaders outlined their picture of the 2017 summer tourism season and unveiled a new county tourism logo on the Bradley Beach promenade.

“Monmouth County is open for business and ready for Summer!,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the County’s Tourism and Economic Development divisions. “Last weekend’s New Jersey Seafood Festival in Belmar was a great success for the businesses and the food purveyors. We are expecting another solid year for tourism for the rest of the county and the County Tourism Office has been working diligently to connect with potential visitors and let them know that their vacation plans should include Monmouth County.”

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Red Bank Republican Council Candidates Blast Dems on Taxes

Red Bank “Tax Queen” Admits She Will Continue to Raise Taxes 

Hanlon and O’Bosky Colwell Pledge to Step Down If They Don’t Deliver

RED BANK, NJ – The slide into gutter politics and half-truths took a surprising turn from the Red Bank Democrats recently, as they chose to highlight Red Bank’s property taxes in a recent statement.

In an attempt to distance themselves from their party’s failed record on municipal taxes and spending, Democrats Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom stated, “It is very clear that the local Republicans are trying to distract from their failed record of increasing taxes as soon as they took the majority this past January.”

Horgan and Yngstrom’s statement failed to include the fact that Kathy Horgan voted for the recent budget, and that municipal spending has exploded during Kathy Horgan’s tenure on Council – skyrocketing from a $12 million annual budget to a $22 million annual budget. 

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Congressman Smith to NJ Transist: Don’t allow JCP&L power lines

Congressman Chris Smith

NEWARK, N.J.—Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) testified today before the New Jersey Transit Corporation Board of Directors in an effort to convince the agency to reject the Jersey Central Power & Light Co (JCP&L) application to utilize the transit agency’s right-of-way for the proposed “Monmouth County Reliability Project.” JCP&L has proposed the 10-mile-long transmission line be placed through residential neighborhoods along NJT’s North Jersey Coast line, creating an undue burden for large numbers of people in five Monmouth County municipalities.

“Some may argue that there is little or no adverse health link to exposure to the electromagnetic fields created by these high-voltage lines, and may produce select studies that suggest that,” said Smith, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on global health in his expert testimony. “But there is statistically relevant evidence–including studies–that suggest otherwise.”

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Manalapan Kindergarten Teacher is Library of Congress Teacher-in-Residence

Congressman Chris Smith and Teresa St. Angelo

Each year the Library of Congress (LoC) chooses a Teacher-in-Residence to serve in Washington for one year. For the 2016-2017 school year, that one person will be Teresa St. Angelo of Freehold Township, N.J., Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today.

Teresa St. Angelo, a kindergarten teacher in Manalapan will work with its Educational Outreach office to help teachers and school librarians incorporate the Library’s digitized primary sources into high-quality instruction. The Educational Outreach office is responsible for directing and developing the Library’s efforts to make its resources accessible, relevant and compelling to the nation’s K-12 community to bring the Library’s resources to classrooms across the country.

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