Phil Stilton

Phil Stilton is the founder and editor of Shore News Network. A 28 year media and technology expert, Phil is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Don Trump Wins Election for Third Time

by Phil Stilton

NEW YORK CITY-Donald Trump has become the only President in history who has had to continue campaigning long after his Election Day victory.

Nothing that liberal losers Jill Stein or Hillary Clinton have throw at Trump has stuck.  Nothing the liberal media has crafted from their recipes of leftism has made any difference in any decisions that actually matter when it comes to his presidency.

He’s become the new Teflon Don.  Not only does none of it matter, he mocks all of those who try to defeat what he has already won.

First came the ill-conceived plan by Jill Stein to raise $7,000,000 to demand recounts in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.  That effort failed miserably, accomplishing nothing but putting money in Stein’s coffers.

Then came the “Hamilton Electors”, an attempt by the left to pursuade electoral college electors to defy the public vote and vote for anyone other than Donald Trump.

That one failed miserably too, with 5 electors dumping Hillary and only 2 taking the Hamilton Electors bait.

Trump won the electoral college vote 306-232, handing Madame Secretary, Hillary Clinton her third defeat…well fourth if you consider the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries.

Yet the left, led by the dishonest media of America continues to try to rewrite the Trump narrative as the death of America, ignoring the hope his presidency brings to those who truly love America and are upset and embarrassed by what our country has become socially, politically and economically over the past two decade where Democrats sat in the oval office 16 out of those 24 years.

America is sick and tired of the liberal agenda telling us lies about Russian hackers, the KKK and the end of America as we know it.  We are sick of the fabricated lies of the liberal news media and their clear support of one of the most corrupt and crooked candidates to ever run for President of the United States, Hillary Clinton.

Trump has won the election.  The election is over, yet it will persist in the media for the next four years, unlike any presidency in the history of the United States.

America has defeated leftist socialism and liberalism and led by Trump, can start healing the wounds of 24 years of the disease.

 

With Notice Bill Dead, Double Dipping Newspapers Should Cut Rates Anyway

by Phil Stilton

TRENTON-One thing we learned this past week in the fight between the corporate media lawyers and six-figure executives versus Governor Chris Christie is that newspapers offered to cut public notice rates by two-thirds.

Now that the legislation to strip them of their government funded life support now lies dead on the floor of the statehouse, the newspaper industry of New Jersey should prove to the rest of New Jersey that they’re not the double dipping, taxpayer funded entities that they are.

While newspapers are quick to tell us who in Trenton is a double dipper and who is ripping off consumers, they fail to mention their own feeding at the trough that contributes their own fair to high taxes in New Jersey.

During the fight, they said they could afford to cut rates by two-thirds.  Now is the time for the six-figure salaried newspaper executives who cry poverty to put their…no, our money where their mouth is and voluntarily offer the discount.

Our own local representative of the dishonest media, the Asbury Park Press has had no problems making cuts to its editorial and reporter staff over the years for the sake of corporate greed, bottom lines and stock prices.   Now, all of the sudden they are worried about those very jobs they have nonchalantly chopped on a regular basis for years.

Give the taxpayers their money back so it can be used for more useful projects in our communities.    Even though this is New Jersey, that $80 million can do wonders for the communities you claim to serve.

In their dishonest self-serving campaign to fight for their government welfare, they once again proved they are part of the dishonest media of America, as they bundled the Chris Christie book deal with a piece of legislation that was fair to the New Jersey taxpayer.

The move was deceitful and devious as publishers and editors gathered in Trenton on Monday, the first time they have been seen in public in decades, to threaten the New Jersey lawmakers.   They outright said whoever votes against their welfare checks, would face revenge and scorn.  They threatened to exact revenge within the pages of their papers, which few read these days, especially here in Ocean County.

The newspaper industry in New Jersey is no better than the double-dipping, tax raiding politicians they claim to be the watchdogs of.

Newspaper is a dying industry, just like fax machines, telegraph, pagers, 8 track tapes, records, smoke signals, morse code and other antiquated mediums of information dissemination.  They don’t deserve the bail out.

If you are interested in this, please call your local newspaper and demand that they come clean and tell us how much tax money they took in from the government this year.

Jackson K-9 Valor Charity Helps Fire Department After Thief Stole Christmas Tree Funds

by Phil Stilton

SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS-This weekend, a thief walked off with $1,000 of Christmas Tree sales raised through a tree sale fundraiser by the Independent Fire Company.  Today, there has been an outpouring of support all along the Jersey Shore for the firefighters.

“We have been the victim of a real life grinch,” the fire company said Saturday morning when they found out their cash register had been stolen.

This morning, Sue DesMarais and Jennifer Gallagher visited the Independent Fire Company and donated $500 to them from money the charity raised last month at a Jackson Township fundraiser held at Cornerstone Kitchen and Tap.

DesMarais is a former police officer and has been the victim of two home fires said she read the story and felt compelled to make the donation.

” I read that the someone stole $1000.00 dollars from the Independent Fire Company in Spring Lakes Christmas Tree Fundraiser. So Jennifer Gallagher and I went down there with a $500.00 donation from K-9 Valor Task Force.”

She said she was interviewed by Channel 7 News, New York and spoke about her own ordeal where firefighters rescued her pets from her burning home in Jackson.

“I’m sorry this happened, I like to pay things forward,” she said.

“Any donations can be either mailed to Independent Fire Co #1 at 700 6th Ave, spring lake heights NJ 07762. Or can be directly dropped off at our station,” the department said to those who have offered support on their Facebook page.

Berkeley Island Park Begins Rebuilding After Being Damaged During Sandy

by Phil Stilton

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP-More than four years after being critically damaged by Superstorm Sandy, the Berkeley Island County Park is finally being rebuilt. In November, the county announced a $6.9 million construction contract was approved by the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Berkeley island park begins rebuilding after being damaged during sandy

“To say we are excited about the bid award and ground breaking would be an understatement,” said Mayor Carmen Amato. “Berkeley Island County Park is enjoyed by so many Berkeley residents and we can’t wait for construction to begin.”

The park has been closed since Sandy, but the new plans unveiled to the community highlighted new amenities, including the first Ocean County run splash park for children.

“We have also added a unique and new feature sure to make children happy especially in the warm weather,” said Ocean County Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr., who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation. “Berkeley Island County Park will be home to the county’s first splash park.”

Bartlett said he traveled to Philadelphia to see firsthand how the splash pad operates and whether it would be a good fit for an Ocean County park.    Bartlett said if the 2,300 square foot, nautically themed splash park is successful at Berkeley Island, Ocean County may consider installing them at other county parks.

“I want to thank the Ocean County Freeholders for providing the investment to not only repair, but to rebuild the entire park. In our early discussions with Freeholder Bartlett, a splash park was discussed, which we were very supportive of having,” Amato added. “We are extremely pleased that the Freeholders did include the splash park. Prior to Superstorm Sandy, Berkeley Island Park was showing its age. I’m looking forward to it’s opening very soon!”

The Freeholders on Nov. 2 awarded a contract for the park redevelopment project to Eagle Construction, of Burlington, in the amount of $6.9 million.

Ocean County expects about $1.2 million reimbursement for the work from the Federal Emergency Management Administration and about $200,000 from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Additional funding may be provided by FEMA from mitigation funds.

Engineers from T&M Associates and Barlo & Associates designed the park redevelopment and buildings, strengthening them to withstand future storms.

A living shoreline will be installed on the south side of the park, and shoreline protection has been fitted on the north side. All new infrastructures, a new parking area with ADA accommodations and improved lighting for easy access are just some of the features that improve the function, aesthetics and recreational opportunities available at this 25 acre park.

Man to police: Military hacked my phone; Retired airman's daughter is international spy

Editors Note: After obtaining the video from this encounter, we are now able to properly report this story.  For the benefit of the actor involved, suffering from mental illness, we will not disclose his name or publish the video.

Originally reported on December 15th.

JACKSON-A Jackson resident this week called police after a bizarre interaction with a man who abruptly stopped and skidded his vehicle in front of his home.

According to the video of the event, the man who was driving the vehicle told the resident, “I have reason to believe your daughter is an international criminal.”

“How do you know that?” the victim asked.

“Because my phone’s been hacked playing a silly game and I got a whole bunch of details of things that would seem like her,” the man responded.

When asked by the victim to see the phone, the man notified him he was live broadcasting the encounter on Facebook.

“Just move on,” the victim said and walked back towards his home.

The man then told the victim that the military has been flying jets low over his home and spying on him, and he gives them the middle finger all the time and the pilots saw it.  He then confronted the victim, allegedly an air force veteran and demanding that he tells everything he knew about the military’s spying on him.

“Do you know anything about the jets harassing me?” he said. “Are you going to enjoy your discharge from misusing military equipment?”

“Where do you get this?” the victim responded.

“From the jets flying circles around my house…when I flip them off…they [expletive] fly over me real nice and slow,” the man said.

“You think I’m flying these jets?” the victim asked the man.

“I’m not sure, I know you’re a helicopter pilot mechanic…,” the man said.

The man then continued to argue with the victim, saying he was had information about the jets and helicopters flying over his house.  The encounter happened in an area which lies just a few miles from Joint Base MDL and is in the flight path of the U.S. Navy training missions that circle Jackson Township from the former Lakehurst Naval Air Station side of the joint base.”

“You are just f’d dude, just move on,” the victim told the man. The man began yelling at the victim and that’s when he called the police.   “I know she’s in a non-extradition neighbor…I’m going to come back with more people later.  You’re not going to misused your [expletive] authority as a soldier…have your daughter and her stupid [expletive] friends harass me with jets and try to ruin my life.”

Later the man who made the outlandish claims  arrived at the Jackson Police headquarters to file a report.

“This same male came in to the police department to report his phone had been hacked by the military after downloading a game,” the department said.  “The male, who suffers from mental health issues was not taking his prescribed medication.”

Police notified EMT’s and he was transported to Monmouth Medical Southern Campus for treatment.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The Evolution of the Public Notice

by Phil Stilton

TRENTON-Like everything in life, nothing stays the same forever.  Aspects of society come and go.  Some become prominent and mainstream while others fade away into obscurity. Yet, others evolve to adapt to the changing world around them.

One of those things that have changed as the world has changed has been how the public receives public notices.

In early Colonial America, town criers and bellman were officers of the courts who shouted court bulletins and notices in high traffic public areas of a town.    These sharp dressed officers would walk the streets of the city ringing a bell, shouting “Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear Ye” to the denizens of the community.

For almost two hundred years, the town crier was how the governing bodies relayed their messages to the public.

In the mid 1800’s governing bodies in more rural and remote areas began using the nation’s fledgling newspapers to disseminate public notices.   Not every town had a newspaper and not everyone knew how to read.  By the 1800’s most northern white men knew how to read, but just around 50% of southern men could read.  Few black man of the era could read, so town criers and newspaper public notices shared the spotlight.

Through the early 1900’s some cities in America still employed town criers, but as populations grew the town crier became obsolete and the courts eventually shifted their notices to the newspapers.    By the time the last town crier lost their job, Americans got their public notices through newspapers.

The media did not evolve much in the 20th century to allow any other practical forms of disseminating public notices.  Yes, radio and the television came along, but stations were limited to the bigger cities for decades and public notices just never took off on tv, a purely visual and audial experience.  Sure, some cable companies used  to run bulletins for the towns, but who really read them when there wasn’t  two or more inches of snow on the ground?

Long after the last town crier argued that the switch to newspaper was an attack on their trade, the Internet appeared.

In the early to mid 1990’s Americans began discovering the internet.    Today, 84.2% of Americans have access to the internet.    23% of Americans subscribe to a newspaper.

This week, New Jersey legislators are prepared to retire the newspapers as the town criers of the state and move the government messaging to the internet.

Society changes.   I’m sure the town criers didn’t want to lose their jobs.  After all, a small part of the population still preferred to get their public notices from the local town crier.  It must have been a difficult and contentious times.

It’s not sure if town criers united to fight the shift, but after two hundred years, we’re confident the system that worked through colonial times and the industrial revolution were a valid replacement.

I’m also sure the online publication of public notices will also stand the test of time when history moves on to the next chapter…whether that’s neuro-news implants installed by the government or some kind of instant server to brain data transfer system.

There will always be a few people who prefer to get their public notices in 4 point walls of text in a remote section of the newspaper, just as there will eventually be those who prefer to get their news from a computer when those new fangled neural implants work just fine.

 

Governor Christie: Public Notice Bill Archaic System that Costs Taxpayers $80 Million Annually

by Phil Stilton

TRENTON-Last week, the New Jersey legislature once again tried to get a common sense tax savings bill through the defenses of the dishonest and greedy New Jersey media and newspaper legal and lobbying firewall.

According to our initial estimate, just tallying municipalities, we lost count after $20 million dollars.    Today, Governor Christie estimated the overall total including state agencies, county agencies, utility authorities and school boards could be well over $80 million per year.

That is the system in place that requires government entities to publish paid public notices in New Jersey’s print newspapers.

The newspapers have been viciously firing back at the Governor and threatening legislators in editorials to not pass the bill to take away the taxpayer money that keeps their industry afloat.

“On Thursday, the Legislature advanced a commonsense piece of legislation that was first proposed in 2004 and will reform the archaic practice of requiring taxpayers and private businesses to pay for costly legal notices in print newspapers,” Christie said.  “The legislation provides the option of posting notices online and citizens will be allowed to take advantage of modern technologies that are already in use by the vast majority of the people in our State.”

It also saves money the Governor added.  Money that could go for other much needed projects, not a lifeline to an industry that has failed to adapt to the modern technological society.

“The current unfunded mandate that is being addressed by this legislation costs New Jersey taxpayers and private citizens more than $80 million per year,” Christie said. “That is $80 million annually from property taxpayers, including those facing the nightmare of foreclosure.”

According to Christie, the taxpayers and citizens of New Jersey can no longer afford this arrangement and thanks to technology, they don’t have to.

Christie said the law right now adds an additional $910 on families facing foreclosures by the requirement to post multiple notices.

“The New Jersey Press Association proposes increasing those charges,” he pointed out.  “As a result, required legal notices earned newspapers approximately $14 million for the 12-month period ending in October 2016. And these costs were borne by the 15,764 financially distressed people who had just suffered a foreclosure of their home in that time period. This is simply unacceptable.”

As part of a “concession” offered by the NJPA and its members, the papers offered to slash prices for government entities but increase rates for those posting foreclosure notices and applying for building permits.  It is nothing but an additional corporate tax and tax on the middle class.

“Today, there are more than 65,000 foreclosures currently pending in New Jersey,” Christie said. “That’s $59 million in potential revenue going to private media outlets that can instead be saved by citizens experiencing a foreclosure. Giving them a choice to post online at no cost helps them prevent losing what little equity they may have left or sinking them further into debt.”

Christie continued:

For government entities, hundreds of millions of dollars of future resources to be spent on required legal notices could now be made available for public schools and other municipal and county services rather than on an outmoded method which has been supplanted for the majority of New Jerseyans by the Internet.

The NJ Press Association has acknowledged the inescapable truth — newspapers have a vested interest in seeing this reform movement fail, and it is why they are making baseless charges to support taxing homeowners and bilking those subject to foreclosure unnecessarily.

For years newspapers have enjoyed a statutorily-protected monopoly on the publication of a vast array of legal notices. Monopolies are always bad for our economy and, in this case, awfully expensive for our citizens.

The facts are clear: nearly 90 percent of New Jersey households have an internet connection and 100 percent of the state’s public libraries provide free internet access to their more than 43 million annual visitors. Only 22 percent of New Jerseyans buy a print newspaper. This reform will bring New Jersey government directly to the people, who primarily spend their time online accessing information — for free. According to a Pew Research Center study from this summer, 81 percent of adults get their news from online sources or through mobile devices.

Contrary to the flailing assertions of the NJ Press Association, there will be no lack of transparency and no harm to the public as a result of this reform. These are merely scare tactics by their paid Trenton lobbyists designed to protect the interests of newspaper companies who argue for a free press, but are really arguing for a taxpayer funded subsidy in disguise. This bill, and their fight over it, unmasks their greed. In fact, their true disinterest in transparency and the public’s access to information through a free press — not to mention their undeniable hypocrisy — are fully displayed by the fact that this op-ed was refused publication. I was therefore left with no choice but to disseminate this opinion myself, which will no doubt be read by a vast majority of the population online.

The truth is this reform legislation maintains the requirement for local governments to provide advance public notice for matters such as meetings, agendas, bid requests and contract awards, while also establishing the requirements for public websites to ensure ease of access for the public. Government entities and individuals would still be able to fulfill notice obligations, but what would no longer be mandatory is the requirement of publishing an exorbitantly expensive notice in a newspaper.

Although the NJ Press Association insists that this reform bill will result in an overwhelming burden for municipal staff, they intentionally ignore the basic facts. Most importantly, they ignore the fact that this legislation is optional. If municipal clerks can’t manage to transfer the text of a legal notice and post it on their website, they are not required to change their process. However, 532 of the 565 municipalities in New Jersey already maintain websites that provide public notices and information — adding the legal notices that are currently published in newspapers will not be a major leap.

The New Jersey Association of Counties, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors and the New Jersey School Boards Association all support this bill. The only group raising alarms on behalf of municipalities is the NJ Press Association.

In 2004, when a nearly identical bill was proposed, Assemblyman Wisniewski, then-Assemblyman (now Senator) Gordon, and then-Assemblywoman (now Senator) Weinberg voted for it. Yet now they have the chutzpah to turn their backs on the taxpayers they serve in order to further their misguided political agenda.

We must update and modernize the public notification responsibilities of local government so that residents are fully informed and we eliminate the outrageous cost for the taxpayers of New Jersey. It will permit a greater number of citizens access to government. The NJ Press Association’s attempts to hang on to an antiquated, self-serving, money making statutory scheme is shameful. The Constitution guarantees a free press, not a government-subsidized one.

That is why I support this bill, and all taxpayers who don’t have Trenton lobbyists arguing for government-ordered profit for them, should as well.

Public Notice: Jackson Township Reorganization Meeting Scheduled for January 3rd

by Phil Stilton

JACKSON-The township will be hosting its annual reorganization meeting on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017 at the Jackson Township Administration Building.  At this meeting the township will appoint its professional and legal contractors for the 2017 fiscal year.  Additionally the council may appoint members to volunteer committees, planning and zoning boards and other boards and commissions.

This public notice is being published for free as a courtesy to the public by the Shore News Network.

PUBLIC NOTICE:

TOWNSHIP OF JACKSON LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICE 173rd ANNUAL REORGANIZATION MEETING OF THE TOWNSHIP OF JACKSON 11th ANNUAL REORGANIZATION MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND TOWNSHIP COUNCIL JANUARY 3, 2017 Notice is hereby given that the 173rd Annual Reorganization Meeting of the Township of Jackson will be held as follows: DATE: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 TIME: 7:30 p.m. PLACE: Jackson Township Municipal Building Main Meeting Room 95 West Veterans Highway Jackson, New Jersey 08527 NOTE: Official action will be taken by the Township Council. If required, the Township Council may convene an Executive Session prior to, during or upon conclusion of the Reorganization Meeting. Ann Marie Eden, RMC Township Clerk ($36.00 paid to Asbury Park Press)

Council to Township: Remember Veterans During the Holiday Season

by Phil Stilton

JACKSON-The Jackson Township council took time during their final meeting before the holidays to remind residents to keep America’s warriors in their thoughts.

“This holiday season, they will be out in the cold, away from their families defending our rights and freedoms to keep our community a wonderful place to live,” Council President Rob Nixon said.

Ken Bressi, the only veteran on the council, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Marine Corps reminded the public of the sacrifices made by Americans killed in battle and their gold star families who live on without them.

“It’s the holiday season, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, whatever it is,” Councilman Ken Bressi said.  “We celebrate Memorial Day, but Gold Star families celebrate every holiday as a memorial day.  Think of all the veterans who gave supreme sacrifices, all veterans who have served us in the past and all our armed forces out there today, keeping our freedoms as they are and sustaining them, also to our first responders who enable us to life safely with these freedoms.”

Bressi said that although Americans celebrate the holidays differently, it’s important to remember the inherent freedoms that allow us to celebrate the holidays as we see fit.

“Always remember during these holidays, no matter what it is, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, whatever it may be, we have the freedom to celebrate the one we want in this country due to our veterans, our armed forces.  I want you to take a moment at every holiday to remember that.”

“Think about our gold star families, who every holiday, every day, it’s memorial day,” Bressi added.

The meeting was recorded in its entirety and published to YouTube.  Photo: YouTube. Video capture of Jackson Council Meeting. 

 

Video: Jackson Council Spars with Resident Over Political Caucus Meeting


by Phil Stilton

JACKSON-Township councilman Robert Nixon had nothing to say at the December 13th council meeting when confronted by resident Elenor Hannum about a political caucus meeting held on Saturday, December 3rd at the law offices of Gilmore and Monahan in Toms River.

The meeting was held just days after township Republicans blasted the council for over matters including election results, future plans for the township and appointments to zoning and planning boards.

A few days later, the meeting was held, but the attendees did not realize they were being secretly videotaped entering and exiting the building by a still unknown videographer.

Attendees of the meeting included the township council, mayor and MUA commissioners Clara Glory, Todd Porter and William Allman, all of whom are also members of the Jackson Republican Club board.   Glory was also the political campaign manager for Ken Bressi, Barry Calogero and Rob Nixon’s 2016 election campaign.

“Was there a secret meeting on December 3rd, 2016,” Hannum asked the council.

“The council separately from our political roles, we’re permitted to meet with anybody in a political context that we want to so long as township business is not discussed outside of that context,” Council President Rob Nixon responded.   “I’m not going to discuss when we meet…political meetings are political meetings, they’re not council meetings.”

“Can you please tell me where this meeting took place?” Hannum asked Nixon.

“I’m not going to discuss the meeting,” Nixon responded.

Hannum disclosed to the township council that she was shown video by a witness of the entire council, mayor and three members of the MUA enter the offices of the township attorney.

Nixon told Hannum the meeting did not violate New Jersey’s Open  Public Meetings Act.

According to the state of New Jersey, political caucus meetings and chance encounters of members of public bodies, or gatherings attended by or open to all members of three or more similar public bodies are not covered by the Law.

Even if the council did discuss township business in violation of the Open Public Meetings Law, it may subsequently convene another public meeting in conformity with the requirements of the law and reconsider the public business which had previously been discussed and acted upon. The intent of the Law is to ensure that public business is discussed and acted upon in public. The “Sunshine Law” does not attempt to inhibit the public body from properly performing its governmental functions.

While it may not look good for the elected and appointed officials in attendance in the public eye, there are no laws preventing such a meeting.

In the event that an individual believes the council violated the act, the law permits the person to file a lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court  within 45 days or report the incident to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Members in attendance could be fined up to $100 for the first offense.

Nixon however, continued to refuse to divulge the to the public the topics of the meeting.

“We can meet ten times per month, it doesn’t matter,” Nixon said before shutting down Hannum.  “Do you have anything else to add to this?”

“No,” Hannum said.

“Thank you,” Nixon snapped back as Hannum ended her public comment.

The meeting was recorded in its entirety and published to YouTube.  Photo: YouTube. Video capture of Jackson Council Meeting. 

 

 

 

If Public Notice Law Passes, Gannett Could Pay Dearly for Nearly 20 Year Old Miscalculation

by Phil Stilton

NEPTUNE-The Asbury Park Press was once a national leader in online news delivery.

It was 1995, then publisher, Jules Plangere Jr., an aging newspaper man had a vision, along with his son Jules, III–To be one of the first newspapers in America to deliver news daily online.

The project was called “IN Jersey”.  The team operated inside an old warehouse across the street from the company’s Neptune headquarters.  Both buildings are gone now, but in the late 1990’s the Asbury Park Press was a cutting edge technology company, buzzing with technology and oozing with excitement.

IN Jersey was run by Diane Burley and John Lott, two people who shared the Plangere’s vision.  The Plangeres let the pair run the company as most dot-com companies were run. We had budgets to develop cool gizmos and gadgets galore.  The Asbury Park Press was a true internet pioneer, like no other newspaper in America.

Burley built a team with a generous mix of seasoned and young energetic programmers, while Lott managed the company’s new statewide dial-up internet that service connected readers to the paper’s new online venture.

We had people on staff like Stanton Fisque who was sort of like our odd company mascot and go to guy at the same time.  Stan could program anything out of thin air and he could solve almost any technical roadblock you dropped on his desk.

Eventually once the platform, designed by former Bell Labs whizz kids Ken Kruse and Greg Phelan was stable, online reporters and editors were hired.  The warehouse began to fill and expand.  Network engineers Steve Passalacqua and Anissa Stone singlehandedly managed the company’s many points of presence and statewide internet backbone.

On the newspaper side, Paul Lamhutt was the mad scientist of a systems engineer who knew how to connect the editors using the newspaper’s archaic roadrunner news terminals and windows 3.1 operating systems to the Solaris servers and Oracle databases that powered the company’s website.  Paul designed systems that would allow editors to send a story to print layout and publish it online with a single mouse click.  For the era, it was a revolutionary concept when the even the simplest task would sometimes require lines of code and macros.

IN Jersey was the state’s first “hyperlocal” news service, quite arguably the first in the nation.  It launched with Freehold.InJersey and quickly expanded to many other towns.

Keep in mind, this was over 15 years before AOL launched Patch.    The Asbury Park Press’ technology initiative was lightyears ahead of the Star Ledger’s NJ.Com project.

As a young whiz kid, I always thought Diane Burley was a bit corny when she said, “One day, we’ll look back and be seen as New Jersey’s Internet news pioneers.”     Today, I get it.   While as young adults, our skills were way beyond what we were doing at the Asbury Park Press, we never really appreciated the size of the technological eight ball Diane and John had to deal with every day.  Nor did we understand the resistance they received from the lifelong newspaper guys who might not have fully embraced…the Internet or shared the same expensive high-tech vision of the Plangeres.

Everything was going great.  The great sales team at IN Jersey worked well with the existing newspaper sales team at the Asbury Park Press.  Bill Meyers and Bill Leitner were our GQ model salesmen who swept customer after customer off their feet.  Linda Goodgold was the rock that managed a tight ship when it came to her sales team.

Major corporations were lining up to be a part of the future of news in New Jersey.  There was always a line of design work waiting for Christine Harrington and Ralph Rivera’s off shoot enterprise, Neptune Interactive Design.  They were the creative and visual artists of the project, designing everything from online user interface components of the news website to full websites for the growing base of customers.

IN Jersey grew…and grew…and it was excitingly popular with the paper’s customers.  We were experimenting with all sorts of new technology, streaming audio servers for NJ 101.5,  video, commercial broadcasting technology and much more.  It was essentially a miniature version of Bell Labs.  Life was great for all of us, except on those days when John and Diane woke up on the wrong side of the bed or just got out of a belittling conference meeting with the paper’s oldguard executive board.

IN Jersey was the future of the news industry and way ahead of its time.  We were working on all kinds of innovative and interactive projects built to engage readers and for the first time ever, in the history of the industry, allow everyday people to create news, discuss the news and interact with each other online.

We were working on everything that made the most diehard cigar and pipe smoking old-school newspaper executive cringe…except the Plangeres, who loved the technology and supported us youngins with every available penny they could spare for research and development.

Jules III, was like a kid in a candy store when we showed off our latest widgets and updates that would enhance his vision of online news.

Then, August 7, 1997 happened.

The Plangeres and their partners sold the newspaper to Gannett.  Jules Jr, recently deceased and the partners decided it was time to get out of the newspaper business.   Gannett, a newspaper company, descended upon the Asbury Park Press like a conquering imperial army eager to rape and pillage whatever they wanted.  It was like the opening scene of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but with a much shorter version of Kylo Ren leading the charge.

Robert Collins replaced Plangere as the publisher.   He quickly assembled the entire company in the cafeteria within the Neptune headquarters.  He was all of about 5 foot nothing, climbed up on a table and introduced himself.  He was very Napoleonic.

“The Internet is a fad,” Collins told the stunned group of reporters, editors and technology gurus.  “We are a newspaper and we are going to survive by being a newspaper.  All this internet stuff is going away. The future of news is not online, but in the newspaper.”

He started talking about razor thin profits, bottom lines, 2%, 4%, whatever, we didn’t really care, we were the all-stars and he was just some old guy blowing wind to be heard, but it eventually set in.

It was a kick in the balls…even for the women.   It was as if every last molecule of oxygen was being sucked out of the room as he blabbed away about ink and print and delivery trucks.  The more he spoke, the harder it became to breath. He made us sick.  Not that we were worried about our jobs, because those were ours for the taking at that point in history, but because we knew he was throwing the future of the company into the box of newspaper misprints on the pressroom floor.

Needless to say, many resumes had the dust blown off them that week.  I was gone by December and in January joined Kruse and Phelan at their even more exciting technology shop in Red Bank, ePresence.

After that day, Gannett began systematically disassembling what the Plangeres, Lott, Burley, Lamhut, Kruse, Goodgold, newsroom editor Bob Kern and the others had built.     They sold off InJersey’s internet provider service to Infinet, just to get rid of it.   By the spring of 1998, the IN Jersey building was vacant and only a small skeleton crew remained squirreled away in a corner on the newsroom’s third floor.

The Star Ledger quickly surpassed the Asbury Park Press, becoming the number one source of online news as Gannett literally folded their hand in the online news card game.

IN Jersey eventually died and was later resurrected as some sort of Madison Avenue magazine geared towards God knows who of a target audience that also failed.

Back then, we didn’t call it “Hyperlocal”, we called it “local news” and “community news”, but that died too, never to resurface again until AOL unsuccessfully tried to recreate local news from the top down.  We had already created from the bottom up 15 years prior.   Gannett began closing community news offices and continued ripping the heart out of what  had made the paper great for nearly a century, the reporters working in the neighborhoods.

Now, the Asbury Park Press is struggling more than ever after multiple rounds  of layoffs.  They’re now staring down the barrel of a very loaded shotgun as New Jersey lawmakers are threatening to take away their government funded public notice life support.

“We’re really concerned,” said Hollis Towns, editor, in a New York Times interview today. “The impact will be devastating. It would entail potentially major losses. And it would mean that local politicians would no longer be required to post legal notices in a place where the majority of the public could see them.”

Towns, like every other newspaper editor in the state who wished with every last breath that print news has a viable future in the digital age, blamed Governor Chris Christie. Many of his peers called it an act of revenge against the media who has not been so nice to governor over the years.  Who they fail to blame is themselves.

The Asbury Park Press lost their base over the past 20 years, not because “print is dead”, but because they abandoned the communities they once proudly served.  Gannett lost a golden opportunity to be a global leader in digital media the day their publisher declared the internet a fad.    They have alienated their reader base with an anti-cop agenda, an anti-conservative platform and a basic disconnect with their reader base in Ocean County.

They abandoned nearly every principle the Plangeres instilled in their editors, to deliver fair, balanced and engaging community news.   Instead, they focused, like their liberal peers, on divisive news, clickbaiting and ridiculously agenda driven “watchdog” reporting that usually targets police, school officials, religious communities, Republicans, conservatives and pretty much anyone who they don’t like or agree with.

They apparently have put too many of their eggs in the public notice basket, a disservice to the  dedicated, hard working reporters who stuck around and continued to pound the pavement looking for great stories in the community every day, now being pushed to drive clicks instead of uncovering exciting and engaging news stories.   They systematically executed their aging and experienced veterans with inexperienced snowflakes who seemingly operate without any supervision at all.

To blame the governor for their failure, twenty years after they dropped the ball is not only a disservice to their employees, but a disservice to their readers.

To claim to be the government watchdog, yet moan and groan when the government wants to end their own double dipping is laughable at best.   They charge the taxpayer on one end to publish the notices and the reader on the other end to read the notices.   There is nothing free about that kind of free press.

To think this day wasn’t coming and never planning for it is their own fault.  Stop telling us we, as taxpayers should pay to read these public notices.  Stop telling us how you want to increase the rates to New Jersey businesses who are already having a tough time and lying about how only high powered engineers will be affected.   You know as well as we do that they will pass those costs down to the homeowners still trying to raise their homes and repair after Hurricane Sandy.  The ones who pay will be the family who saved to buy a new swimming pool, to put an addition on their home or maybe a handicapped accessible extension for an elderly family member who can no longer afford to live alone in New Jersey.

Their compromise of lowering municipal rates and increasing the applicant rates was nothing but a new business tax and an additional tax on the people of New Jersey.

Your double dipping of government funds needs to end immediately.   It’s 2016.  Not 1916.

Newspapers Public Notice "Compromise" Nothing Short of a Business Tax

by Phil Stilton

TRENTON-Today, New Jersey’s newspapers offered lawmakers a compromise on the proposed bill to eliminate the state mandate requiring towns to pay newspapers to publish public notices.   Fortunately, according to published reports, Governor Chris Christie rejected the offer that would lower municipal advertising rates by 50%, but increase rates for private businesses.

In a story in today’s Asbury Park Press, Brian Murray, a spokesperson for the governor said the deal was unacceptable.

The APP reported: “Those private ads are paid for by poor people getting their houses foreclosed on and the costs of the legal notices passed directly on to them by the financial institutions,’’ Murray said. “Our proposal lifts that burden from those facing foreclosure while the NJPA proposes to increase their burden even further. It is no compromise; it just shifts the burden from the taxpayers to the citizens facing foreclosure.’’

The rate shift also equals nothing more than an additional tax on New Jersey businesses, many already reeling from a recent 23% gas tax increase. The newspaper industry’s proposal would ensure that at the end of the day, they don’t lose their government mandated revenues.

The bill, unlike previous attempts is expected to quickly move through the state house before reaching the Governor’s desk where he has indicated he will sign the measure into law.

If passed, newspapers, already on the decline nationwide would be faced with revenue shortfalls in the millions of dollars in 2017 and could lead to even more layoffs in an industry where commercial advertising has dropped off in favor online and social media based advertising.

Newspapers have long hailed themselves as the watchdogs of the public tax dollar, however when it comes to cutting their own taxpayer funded enterprise they abandoned their watchdogging.

 

 

 

 

Blanket Party for Former Marine, Democrat who Opposes Mattis for Secretary of Defense

by Phil Stilton

WASHINGTON, DC-Arizona Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego, a former U.S. Marine Reservist will not be backing fellow Devil Dog and retired Marine Corps General James “Mad Dog” Mattis as the next United States Secretary of Defense.

Gallego said he will vote against Mattis’ required waiver.

“As a fellow Marine, I greatly admire General James Mattis’ dedication and leadership. We all should be incredibly grateful for his many years of service to our nation,” Gallego said.  “As a veteran, I believe strongly in the principle of civilian leadership of the military. Current law requires that a military officer be out of active duty for at least seven years before taking the job of defense secretary. I do not believe this long-standing check should be cast aside, and I will oppose a waiver of this rule, even for someone as exceptionally qualified as General Mattis.”

That stance didn’t sit well with his fellow Marines and military veterans who gave the congressman a virtual blanket party on Facebook.

“You’re an embarrassment to the Marines,” said many who visited Gallego’s Facebook page today.

“It’s a weekend warrior disrespecting one of the greatest generals in Marine Corps history,” said David Dudley.  “Catch a knife hand to the throat, pussy.”

“This is your last term in the house,” said Rich Baptist.  “Get your resume ready, McDonalds probably is going to want to see it.”

“I guess your motto is ‘Semper I’, not ‘Semper Fi’, I’m ashamed to call you a brother,” said Marine Kerry McClanahan.

“You worthless shitbag,” wrote Chad Stanley.  “You have no integrity!”

“Every unit had a guy like this,” wrote Marine Mitch Cogburn.  “The little bitch that didn’t belong.”

Gallego was called everything from a “fat ass” to “blue falcon”, a code word we use to politely call a fellow Marine who goes against his own a, “Buddy F*&cker”.

“Wish we could take this guy to the tree line,” wrote … of all people… Al Swearengen.

Lace Carmouche bluntly told Gallego, “God you’re a pussy.”

 

 

Jackson Township Residents Vote in First Annual JTOWN Magazine "People's Choice Awards"

by Phil Stilton

JACKSON-Over 1,200 readers voted in November in the inaugural JTOWN Magazine “People’s Choice Awards”.

Over 40 individuals, businesses and charities were nominated by the public in our online Facebook page, Jackson,NJ (Over 5,400 members). Of those 40, four were chosen by our readers.
After Maureen Olsen lost her son Chase Ryan to cancer, she become devoted to supporting childhood cancer charities and awareness around Jackson. She started the Chase Ryan Olsen Foundation in memory of her son.

She was the driving force behind Jackson’s “Paint the Town Gold” initiative that has raised awareness of childhood cancer in the township exponentially. Sports teams across Jackson wear gold ribbons, shoe laces, socks to raise money for cancer based charities and to keep the memory of those children the township has lost alive.
Mayor Michael Reina has served as Jackson’s mayor for 8 years and has been one of the town’s most liked mayors in recent history. Reina has been open in his support of everything that is Jackson from veterans to childhood illness awareness to youth sports programs. Reina is a fixture at many community events and has been a hands on mayor when it comes to being part of the community since before he took office.

Reina and his wife Laura take the efforts of charities such as the Chase Ryan Olsen Foundation personally as their own granddaughter Angelina has been battling childhood cancer for several years.

Farley’s Ice Cream was chosen as business of the year. Owner John Burnetsky is a long time community supporter, president of the Jackson Liberty Band Association and a member of the Jackson School Board.

The James Volpe Foundation is another foundation that had its start after a tragedy. After Jackson Memorial student James Volpe died in a car crash, his father Anthony, mother Christine and brother Justin, along with family and friends began raising money in James’ name to support James’ most passionate interest, youth sports and baseball. The foundation raises money to help sports teams and has donated a driving simulator to promote safe driving among students learning to drive in the school. The foundation helps fund sports equipment for volunteer and school teams and assists under privileged athletes pay for sports fees when needed.

The poll was conducted by JTOWN Magazine and the Shore News Network. The poll application software was managed by Code Rubik, Inc. a third party application developer based out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

County Officials Use Seaside Bombing to Expand Sheriff's Department Role

TOMS RIVER-In a very rare public display of agreement, Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy and Freeholder Jack Kelly openly supported each other at Wednesday’s Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders meeting.

The two have been engaged in a behind-scenes-power struggle since Mastronardy was elected Sheriff in 2013, after Kelly made an unsuccessful attempt to be the Republican nominee after the passing of longtime Sheriff William Polhemus.

The two showed solidarity after last weekend’s terrorist bombing in Seaside Park, but also over the possibility to expand the role and staffing at the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department.

For years, Mastronardy, the former chief of the Toms River Police Department wanted to expand the role of the Sheriff’s Department beyond courthouse , administrative and investigative duties.

Kelly serves as the Director of Public Safety, a civilian oversight position, and is the civilian liaison between the Sheriff’s Department and the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

At the meeting Kelly said the county has been holding meetings to determine where and how to invest tax dollars to increase the role of the Sheriff’s Department.

Kelly most recently made a push to serve on the New Jersey State Parole Board, but that effort was thwarted by the media and political opponents.

New Jersey Democrat State Senator Raymond Lesniak effectively blocked that nomination citing Kelly’s handling of the Laurel Hester death benefits case just 10 years ago.    Kelly’s anti-gay marriage stance at the time was a key highlight in the media coverage of the board denying the former prosecutor’s passing of her death benefits to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree.

After media outrage and public outcry, the Freeholders changed their decision in January of 2006.  Hester died of lung cancer just one month later.

“In the aftermath of the Seaside Park incident this past Saturday our office will be providing additionally security and assets throughout Ocean County when deemed necessary,” the Sheriff’s Department said on Thursday. “The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office role is to provide public safety to the public.”

Kelly and Mastronardy are both running for re-election in November’s general election.

The Asbury Park Press reported on the meeting of the Ocean County Board of Freeholders.

Local Authorities Mum on Sheriff Officer Who Struck Teen Girl With Car

LAKEWOOD-Little is still known about a crash that involved an Ocean County Sheriff’s Department officer enroute to a routine call in Lakewood Wednesday afternoon after the driver struck a 17 year old girl walking on the northbound shoulder on New Hampshire Avenue.

Toms River and Lakewood Police arrived on scene, but neither department has issued a media release on the incident, which is typical in a non-officer involved crash within the first 24 hours after the incident.

Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy deferred media questions to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.    Calls made to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Freeholder / Director of Public Safety Jack Kelly have either yet to be returned or calls have been missed and return calls have not been returned.

According to the New Jersey State Police, Juan Mercado, 44, of Jackson struck the Lakewood girl at approximately 1:25 pm as she was walking on the shoulder.

According to The Lakewood Scoop, the girl was rushed to Jersey Shore Medical Center’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where she was in critical condition.

 

 

Lakewood Zoning Board Taunts Citizen Filming Meeting

LAKEWOOD-A video posted this weekend by a YouTuber who goes by the name of “First Amendment Activist” posted a shocking video of Lakewood Township planning board members mocking his right to record the open public hearings.  For the past month, the YouTuber has been providing the public with an inside look into the inner workings of Lakewood Township.  Videos include meetings of Lakewood’s Master Plan Committee, an arrest of an Orthodox man who was accused of physically abusing his wife and township planning, zoning and committee meetings.

Unlike nearby towns such as Brick and Toms River, the Lakewood government does not provide video recordings of its township meetings.

Angry and upset with the person’s activities, the Lakewood zoning board members last week pulled out their own smartphones and began recording the public audience.

“Before you come up, make sure the cameras are all rolling,” said Abe Halberstam, the zoning board chairman.  “All the cameras, every one of them, put the cameras on, everyone.”

At that point, he and other board members joined in, laughing, began video recording the audience.

Under New Jersey state law, the public has the right to record open public meetings of governing bodies.

Under New Jersey law, if any of the board members actually did record the meeting on their device, those recorded files from their mobile devices would also be treated as public records, accessible under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act.

Tensions are heating up across Ocean County as governing bodies are being more regularly recorded by ordinary citizens where the government entities do not provide the service to the community.

Lakewood’s zoning board has a notorious reputation for granting approvals for high density commercial projects that probably would not be approved in other communities in the county, frequently rubber stamping variances that exceed a parcel’s zoning limits.

You can watch the video here:

Racial and Religious Tensions Escalate to Violence Around New Jersey Jewish Orthodox Enclave

LAKEWOOD-Over the past year, racial and religious tensions between Lakewood’s predominantly Orthodox Jewish population and residents in surrounding towns have escalated, culminating in violence for the first time this week.

As Lakewood Township runs out of open space to build sufficient housing for its exploding Orthodox population, community leaders last year encouraged Orthodox Jewish families in Lakewood and Brooklyn to consider moving beyond the borders of Lakewood.   Rabbi Schmuel Lefkowitz advised at a conference of Agudath Israel of America that land investors and families looking to join the population boom in Lakewood, to invest in properties and buy homes in the surrounding towns of Jackson, Brick, Howell and Toms River.

Over the next few months, gold fever struck realtors and land prospectors, now referred to as “Schtick [little] Pioneers” by Lefkowitz.   Realtors from from agencies that cater to the Orthodox population went fast and furious, relentlessly knocking on doors, buying foreclosures and open land in those neighboring towns.    Many residents in those towns complained about realtors knocking on their doors for days on end, asking them to sell them home.    Jackson Township Councilman Rob Nixon said those real estate buyers were engaging in “panic peddling“.

Eventually the towns of Toms River, Jackson and Brick established no-knock registries as a quality of life control measure to regulate the volume of real estate door knocking.  Toms River went as far as a complete ban on real estate soliciting in some neighborhoods bordering Lakewood.  Most residents supported the measure.  Realtors would now have to list the neighborhoods they wanted to canvass.

Facebook pages popped up just as quickly as for sale signs in neighboring towns.  Jackson Strong, Toms River Strong and others, where angry residents could communicate their frustrations with each other and talk about their now changing communities as homes in their neighborhoods were being purchased at a high rate by Orthodox families, many seeking to escape their urban lifestyles in Lakewood and New York City, others, hiding behind LLC’s, purchasing homes and land as rental investment properties.

For decades, the five communities, co-existed peacefully.  Since the middle of the twentieth century, Lakewood has been home to the Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva and has since grown into one of the largest Orthodox Jewish population centers outside of Israel.   Most still coexist peacefully.

In the 2000 census, Lakewood, a mixed community with a large Hispanic and African American population, was home to 60,000 people.

Fifteen years later, that population has nearly doubled to 100,000 making it the most populous town in Ocean County. The increase was mostly in the Orthodox Jewish demographic, causing a near overload and failure in the Lakewood public school system, which is now overseen by a state monitor in an attempt prevent a complete collapse.

Tensions between Lakewood’s Orthodox and non-Orthodox neighbors continue to escalate.

In 2016, residents in Toms River and Jackson complained after Lakewood Shomrim (An Orthodox founded community security force), called the Lakewood Civilian Safety Watch (LCSW) was accused of patrolling neighborhoods in those towns.    In Jackson, Mayor Michael Reina and the township ordered police Chief Matthew Kunz to advise the LCSW to not patrol their town.  Toms River followed suit, ordering an immediate cease and desist.

The orders resulted in then Lakewood Police Chief Robert Lawson to testify that LCSW does not patrol outside of Lakewood, despite several of photographs submitted by residents showing LCSW operating in Jackson and Toms River.  Lawson criticized the elected officials for their meddling saying they are politicians just worried about their political careers.   Lawson was not showing his cards though.  A month later, he retired from the Lakewood Police Department and was immediately hired to be the head of security at the BMG Yeshiva.

Chief Kunz in Jackson, according to an Asbury Park Press report defied local leaders and endorsed LCSW on the department’s Facebook page, prompting a disapproval response from Reina.

Coupled with aggressive real estate tactics and aggressive home buying by Orthodox families and what many perceive as an encroachment into their communities, the Jackson Township municipal council requested the State of New Jersey to investigate possible blockbusting in Jackson.  That request was denied by the state.

On social media residents in both communities have verbally battled, humiliated and mocked each other.

Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher called the growth of Orthodox Jewish families in his town, an invasion.  Lakewood Mayor Manashe Miller, a member of the Orthodox community demanded an apology by his Republican peer.  That was back in March.  Kelaher has yet to issue a formal apology.  Instead the 83 year old mayor and former U.S. Marine Corps  Reserve officer denied that his comment was anti-Semitic and said he maintains a good relationship with his Jewish residents.

Neither side is innocent in the back and forth.

Toms River Police earlier this year took issue with false reports claimed in Lakewood newspapers which misrepresented facts found by investigating officers in a possible bias crime incident.
On Purim, many Lakewood children dressed in redneck garb, wearing Jackson Strong shirts.      Many Orthodox on Lakewood websites and social media pages openly criticize residents of Jackson, referring to the community as ‘ignorant’ and ‘rednecks’.

Lakewood residents have openly called for Department of Justice investigations into what is described as “pure anti-Semitism” at Jackson Township council meetings.

An outreach meeting between mayors of Jackson, Howell, Lakewood and Manchester yielded no relief or plan to resolve the differences and problems that face those communities.

This past winter, a Jewish male made headlines when he paid a homeless man to pour a cup of hot coffee on his head.

Parks in Toms River and Howell have been defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti.

Police in all of the towns surrounding Lakewood aggressively investigated those crimes, some leading to charges.

This week, however, things began turning violent.

A woman in Howell has been accused of assaulting a young male in front of the local Wal-Mart.

In Lakewood, a black man from Jackson, Elijah Chandler was driving his vehicle in Lakewood when he was struck by an Orthodox man who he said ran a red light.   The Lakewood Orthodox population, like many others in New Jersey is notorious for bad driving etiquette and disregard for other drivers.    Leaders in the Orthodox community have said on several occasions this pattern of driving is attributed to the large number of former city dwellers who are not yet familiar with Ocean County’s open roads and high speed limits.

A second photo of chandler was published to social media.
A photo of chandler laying on the ground after police arrived was posted to social media.

After the crash, Chandler exited his car, and according to witnesses, pulled the man from his car and engaged in a verbal argument with him and several other Orthodox men who had descended upon the crash site.

Chandler yelled bias slurs at the men, “Go back to your own country, you kike.”    One man off camera shouted, “Get out of here, coon!” to Chandler. A video of the incident can be found on Facebook.

He was subsequently arrested and charged with multiple offenses including bias crime, assault and harassment.

Lakewood Police did not say whether charges were filed against the offending driver or the man who rebutted Chandler’s hate speech with his own verbal racial assault.

As the tensions rise, few, if any religious or political leaders from Lakewood and surrounding towns have offered solutions on how to curb the rising tensions, which this week have escalated to violent acts and will most likely continue as the situation on the ground heats up here in “Four Towns”.

 

Jackson Man Hit by Reckless Lakewood Driver Arrested by Police

LAKEWOOD-A situation in Lakewood escalated quickly between a black man and Orthodox Jewish men after a car accident here on Wednesday.

Police in Lakewood have arrested 34 year old Elijah’s Chandler of Jackson after he reacted aggressively and violently to the driver of a vehicle in Lakewood he claims ran a red light and crashed into his vehicle.

Chandler claimed the driver ran the red light, police have not released any information pertaining to the actual accident, but did file charges against him.

“The [expletive] ran the light,” Chandler shouted. “He tried to beat the light, like all y’all [expletive].”

After the accident, he began yelling at a driver he claims sped through the intersection after the traffic light had turned red.   During the heated confrontation, some of which was captured on video, police arrived and arrested Chandler, charging him with bias intimidation, terroristic threats, simple assault, criminal mischief and two counts of harassment. Chandler was surrounded by a group of individuals described as Orthodox Jewish men during the clash.

In the video, Chandler could be seen yelling and pointing at the man, shouting anti-semitic remarks, but no physical assault was captured on video.  Chandler then kicked the vehicle which was operated by the driver who committed the initial offense.  Witnesses claimed Chandler opened the offending driver’s car door and removed him from the vehicle.

Lakewood police refused to release the comments made by Elijah to the media, but the video released shortly afterwards on social media captured the event.

You can watch the full video on the Ocean County Police Blotter facebook page.

Main Photo:  Chandler lays on the road after being instructed by police, prior to his arrest.

Chandler

Man Arrested for Child Neglect After Nearly OD'ing While Giving Child Bath

 

JACKSON-On Saturday September 17, 2016 at approximately 8:30 pm, Jackson Police Officers Michael Kelly and Shane Davis, along with Jackson First Aid responded to a residence located on Bennetts Mills Road on the report of an unresponsive male who had been located in the bathroom of the residence.

 

While enroute to the location, officers were updated that the male was now responsive. The officers arrived on scene and observed the 35 year old male who had been reported as the unresponsive victim. Officer Kelly, who is one of the agency’s certified Drug Recognition Experts (DRE), made observations that it appeared that the male was exhibiting the common signs and symptoms of being under the influence of a narcotic and was having difficulty in speaking with the officer. Further investigation revealed that the male had been in the bathroom giving a small child a bath and when other family members arrived home from being out, the small child ran from the bathroom saying that the male was sleeping. The male was then found in the bathroom, reportedly barely breathing and failing to respond to attempts to wake him.

 

The investigation was continued and resulted in the male being arrested and charged with child abuse/neglect. He was processed at Police Headquarters and was released on summons pending a court appearance, further investigation is ongoing at this time. The child was placed with family members for safety and the DCPP was also contacted to investigate.

 

 

–          The media and the public are reminded that any persons arrested or charged with any offenses or crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.