Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Park now opened from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Island Beach State Park has returned to pre-Superstorm Sandy hours and more of the park has been opened to visitors, state Department of Environmental Protection Commission Bob Martin said. “We are keeping pace with the Christie Administration’s goal of having all of our state parks, including Island Beach State Park, fully operational for the peak summer season,” Martin said. “Having this popular destination getting closer to normal operations is emblematic of the state’s drive to have the Shore open for business this summer.’’ The park is now open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for all guests. Fishing access has also been extended to 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The DEP recently awarded a $268,000 contract to a New Brunswick-based Tekton Development Corp…
Monday, April 29, 2013
Many storm victims have become Sandy zombies
They are easy to spot. They don't smile much. They look tired. They are tired. They are numb. They are the Sandy zombies. They are fried emotionally and physically from half a year of battling to go home, if they still have a home to go to. I am a Sandy zombie. Is it possible it's been half a year since that horrific day and night when Superstorm Sandy blasted the Jersey Shore and changed some lives forever? Six months since we left our Bayville home with three terrified cats and made our way to family in Toms River? Six months since we've been living in a basement? We knew Sandy was going to be bad, even when we evacuated at noon on Oct. 29. Trees were already toppling in Pine Beach, taking down power lines. But we didn't know then we …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Board of Freeholders unanimously introduce 2013 budget; public hearing on May 1
Ocean County's equalized tax base dropped $10 billion after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Jersey Shore last Oct. 29. The county's tax base fell from $100.2 billion in 2012 to $90.2 billion in 2013, largely as a result of the massive storm that devastated the barrier island and some mainland sections, Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. said. The county tax rate will jump 3.7 cents for each $100 of equalized valuation. But using some of the 2013 county open space tax funds will pare the increase to 3.2 cents, he said. "The tax rate and base work hand in hand," Bartlett said. "We are not going to raise any more in overall tax." Bartlett made the remarks before the freeholders unanimously approved the introduction of the $386,188,713 budget, …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The long slog to recovery is taking a toll
Show me the way to go home. Five months? Has it really been five months since the monster Superstorm Sandy roared into Ocean County and changed the landscape for all time? Has it really been five months since we fled our Bayville home and moved into my son and daughter-in-law's basement? I remember hoping in those first dark weeks that we might be back in time for Christmas. We are still out. It took awhile for reality to sink in. It took some time to realize that recovery, for many, won't happen quickly. And for some, it won't happen at all. I met a woman who lives on Cove Road West in Bayville at the township's informational session on home elevation recently. She moved into her house about 15 years ago and happily began making it a home…
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Deadline extension applies for homeowner, renter and business registration with SBA
Residents impacted by Superstorm Sandy now have until May 1 to register for individual disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to a prepared statement from the governor's office. The deadline extension also applies for homeowner, renter, and business registration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Disaster Loan Assistance. Businesses applying for SBA Economic Injury loans still have until July 31 to apply. The loans are for businesses that did not suffer any physical damage, but lost revenue in Sandy's aftermath. State and federal offiicials have urged all residents and businesses affected by the storm, whether it was through flooding, wind damage or loss of business revenue, …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
County will use open space funds to help make up the difference, Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. says
Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. has been compiling public budgets for 40 years. And 2013 is shaping up be the worst year of all, he said. "It is the most difficult budget I have ever worked on," Bartlett said a caucus meeting of the Ocean County Board of Freeholders today. "We have experienced unprecedented damage from Superstorm Sandy." The county fronted the money for storm cleanup for municipalities who signed on for shared services through a $100 million emergency appropriation last November. That money must be made up in increments of 20 percent over the next five years, Bartlett said. But most of the emergency appropriation funds will be recovered eventually from FEMA and the participating municipalities, he said. As it stands now, …
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Grassroots group that opposes FEMA's advisory base flood elevations issued after Superstorm Sandy gaining momentum
Superstorm Sandy residents came by the hundreds to today to support the grassroots organization Stop FEMA Now today at the Silverton First Aid Squad building on Maine Street in Toms River. There were few places left to park on the side streets. Drivers searched up and down Pierson Street, Blossom Drive and Oak Hill Drive looking for places to park. "Get the word out," thundered George Kasimos, who organized Stop FEMA Now shortly after the Federal Emergency Management Agency released the advisory base flood elevation data. "We have to get the word out," he said. "Like us on Facebook. Stop FEMA Now! Like us! Did anybody not hear that?" Residents packed the ambulance bay area and spilled out onto the driveway. Many stood for the entire …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Residents must call the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs to report their problems with utilities, county will advocate on their behalf
Don't take no for an answer. Call us. That's the message Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari wants to get out to Superstorm Sandy victims who are still receiving utility bills, even though they may have lost their homes or been displaced. "If they have an issue with a utility company, call us up," he said. 'We will do the best we can." Residents need to call or e-mail the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs with their information before they county can act on their behalf, Vicari said. The phone is 732-929-2105. The fax is 732-506-5330. The e-mail is ConsumerAffairs@co.ocean.nj.us. And he has no patience for utility officials who say they are billing customers fixed costs, not actual usage. "I don't care," he said. "This is the worst storm…
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs working on survey to address the problem
Call it adding insult to injury. That's Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari's reaction to utilities that continue to send bills to Superstorm Sandy victims who may not even have a home left or one they can live in. "If you lost your home, it no longer exists," he said at the Feb. 21 Board of Freeholders meeting. "But you are still getting a bill." Vicari said he has already spoken to Jersey Central Power and Light representatives, who have agreed to make corrections in bills sent to residents who lost their homes or are displaced. "Adjustments will be made," he said. "We are working on that. We hear what people are saying." Many residents who have been displaced are now actually being double billed - first for utility usage in homes they can no …
But residents need town approval first
Some Mantoloking residents can go home on Friday, but only if they meet a series of the town's requirements. "We are ready to repopulate," says the town's website. "A big day for some and a bittersweet day for those of us who have lost homes or have significantly damaged houses." The statement is a stark reminder that many residents cannot return home because their homes are gone, condemned or still so badly damaged from Superstorm Sandy that they are not yet habitable. The website notes that Gov. Christie sent the town "a very nice letter concerning repopulation. Please see Governor Christie’s letter here: Christie Letter." Regarding what to do to begin the process of repopulation, the first step is "to make sure all utilities have been…
1stcav
8:45 am on Sunday, May 5, 2013
Foggyworld: Ah...no- do as I say, not as I do as I'm part of the 1 % , right Mary Pat....Different rules for the rulers...You don't think the President and Congress will be under Obamacare of collect Social Security or a meger Pension plan...No ..top shelf the " Best of the Best " by the tax payers of OUR fair land...for serving Us mindless , falling down wreches , who without them couldn't wipe … more ›