Thursday, April 18, 2013
The New Jersey governor held a table discussion with area business owners about the prospects of the upcoming summer season.
Gov. Chris Christie isn't just confident that the Jersey Shore is ready to welcome back visitors to its beaches and businesses, he's sure of it. At McLoone's Pier House in Long Branch Thursday afternoon, Christie held a roundtable discussion with several area business owners to listen to their concerns and expectations for the summer, and to ask them to let him know what the state can do to facilitate the coast's continued recovery following Hurricane Sandy. Despite some lingering issues, the message was largely uniform. "The good news I heard from them is that they're open for business." The goal now, Christie said, is to spread that message, to let the shore's visitors know that their favorite summer destination is ready to welcome them…
The deadlines for FEMA assistance and SBA loans are both May 1.
There are two weeks left for survivors of Superstorm Sandy who suffered damage to their homes to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The deadline is midnight, May 1, according to FEMA officials. This is also the deadline for residents to return applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for low-interest disaster loans. Residents can register for FEMA assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov, or via smart phone or tablet at m.fema.gov. They also can call 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585, and those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 800-621-3362. Those platforms are also available to check the status of any applications. Residents can apply for low-interest home or business disaster …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Environmental New Jersey is calling for efforts to reduce carbon pollution.
On an interactive map of the United States that records the number of extreme weather events that have taken place over the last several years, New Jersey might as well be the black eye. The red, purples and magentas that color each of New Jersey’s 21 counties make up the wrong end of the weather-related disaster spectrum, marking the entire state as a recurring extreme weather target. Should nothing be done to curb pollution and carbon emissions, a recent report from Environment New Jersey Research and Policy Center details, expect that trend to continue. Just off of the beach in Long Branch Tuesday, with temperatures coincidentally hovering around an unseasonable 80 degrees, several officials gathered to discuss the new report, called “…
Friday, April 5, 2013
Playground is the first of 26 dedicated to those killed in the Newton, Conn. shooting
Wedged between a mountain of barren, sullen beach and a boardwalk on the mend sits a sharp symbol of merciless honor and hope cushioned by soft sand — Sea Bright's Sandy Ground: Where Angels Play playground. Meant to be a safe haven in which children can play and epitomize rebirth from tragedy and destruction, the symbolic playground will open on Saturday. Sea Bright was the first Sandy-ravaged site chosen of 26 planned for different spots throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut to serve the dual purpose of signaling recovery and honoring each of those who lost their lives in the Newtown, Connecticut Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Of the 26, 20 were children. The Sandy recovery purpose merged with that of children and the …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Bain's was one of the first Sea Bright businesses to reopen after Hurricane Sandy. Are you Jersey strong and open for business? Tell us in the comments section below.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Tuesday, April 2
The Jersey Shore is open for business. And Sea Bright is on the rise. So promises a video produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) featuring several local businesses, including Bain's Hardware, that have reopened following Hurricane Sandy. In brief vignettes spliced with images and slogans of the shore's recovery, business owners and employees from Sandy-impacted towns invite customers back to their businesses by letting them know that not only are they open, but that in spite of the late-October storm they remain "Jersey Strong." In addition to the small businesses featured in the video, it ends with a clip of a recent Gov. Chris Christie speech at Woody's Ocean Grille in Sea Bright, also open, praising New Jersey's …
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Miss something? Check out the top stories for March
Just in case you've missed some news in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, we've compiled a list of the most read stories for the month. Topping the list of popular stories was the long-awaited first Rumson St. Patrick's Day Parade. Also very popular were: stories about Sea Bright's rebirth, Rumson residents' plight in raising homes or leaving the area, the ever-magical bridge that R-FH kids painted back in the day, a Sea Bright fire and the unforgettably tragic death of Nancy Clark. Take a look back: • Irish Up at Rumson St. Paddy's Parade • Rumson St. Paddy's Day Parade Soon • Closed Part of Ocean Avenue Reopens • Painting The Bridge of R-FH Milestones • Raising or Leaving Home in Rumson • Several Area Fire Companies Fled to Scene of Sea Bright…
Friday, March 29, 2013
Bunny will appear in Sea Bright; Sunrise services
Hurricane Sandy's wrath couldn't stop the Easter Bunny from making a stop in Sea Bright. And the bunny will be hopping down a beachy trail Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Sea Bright Public Beach. Mayor Dina Long spread the news on her Facebook page: "Sea Bright kids: the Easter Bunny is coming here after all. Egg hunt on the beach Saturday at 11 a.m. sharp." Now that's a hunt of a different kind. Sunny skies are in the forecast, so kids and parents may end up enjoying a little beach time with that special "somebunny." Who knows? You may end up finding some shells and sea glass to add to the bunny's treats in your basket. If you'd like to celebrate Easter Sunday starting with a sunrise service at the beach, too, Embury United Methodist …
During a Friday conference call discussing the National Flood Insurance Program, talk shifted to FEMA's flood maps and the potential for change in New Jersey.
The impetus behind releasing its advisory flood maps soon after Hurricane Sandy was simply to aid in the state's disaster recovery, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) risk analyst said Friday, noting that they still remain subject to change prior to their official adoption into the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Discussion about the NFIP as well as the Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps was made during a FEMA conference call late Friday morning and seemed to conflict with Gov. Chris Christie's hurried effort to see the maps adopted as New Jersey's new standard. Doug Bellomo, director of FEMA's Risk Analysis Division, said the agency used the best available scientific data to develop the maps, and while he's confident …
Lautenberg to Christie: FEMA state AG's office on contract
The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned the New Jersey state Attorney General's office days after Superstorm Sandy struck that awarding a contract to AshBritt for storm cleanup could jeopardize federal funds, the Star-Ledger reported Friday. The newspaper reported that, in a letter from U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to Christie penned in February and obtained under the state's Open Public Records Act, the senator said his office was informed by FEMA that reimbursements to local municipalities and counties could be at risk. The post-Sandy contract was "piggybacked" from a 2008 contract AshBritt had with Connecticut, the Ledger reported. Since Lautenberg's letter, however, officials told the Star-Ledger, there have been …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Federal funding is coming to finish the job
It's still a surreal sight. Heading to Sea Bright over the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, a panorama of sand mountains accosts the horizon. It looks like a foreign apocalyptic Sahara of sorts. Knowing that the beach lies beyond them is a consolation of familiarity. But, even after Hurricane Sandy's clean-up pushed the sand back off the streets and piled it high and the borough underwent an $8.5 million beach replenishment project, a couple of storms and high tides later, it's all gone — an awful lot of it, anyway. It was the fourth Sea Bright replenishment in just over a decade, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which handles all beach replenishment projects from giant barges in the sea. More than a million cubic yards of sand …
Felicia Stoler
5:39 pm on Friday, April 5, 2013
The Aronson Twins will be performing a special song that was written in memory of those 26 who lost their lives in Newtown. Please come out tomorrow morning @ 9:30 am (Saturday April 6th) for the dedication ceremony! more ›