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Video: Man Stoned to Death; Dumped in Trash Can at Jersey Shore

An Atlantic City man has been charged with the murder of a man whose body was discovered this morning in Atlantic City, Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton announced.

Atlantic City Police responded on Saturday, December 31, 2016 at 8:43 a.m., to the 1200 block of Adriatic Avenue, Atlantic City, for a report that a dead man’s body had been discovered in a trashcan. The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit responded to the scene.

The victim, identified as Ricky L. Ward, 52, of the 400 block of Delta Avenue, Atlantic City, was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene. Investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Atlantic City Police Department led to the location and detention at approximately 5:15 p.m. of Thomas Green, 64, of the 1300 block of Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, who was subsequently charged with Murder, for purposely and knowingly causing the death of the victim “by hitting him in the head multiple times with stones,” and with Possession of a Weapon For an Unlawful Purpose (stones), and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (stones). Green was processed for the arrest and lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility on 1,000,000 full cash bail set by Superior Court Judge John C. Porto.

A conviction for murder carries a potential sentence of incarceration in New Jersey State Prison for a period of 30 years to life.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Atlantic City Police Department continue the investigation.

Breaking/AC was on scene and posted the above video to YouTube. For more on Breaking/AC, visit their website.

Toms River Shelter Hosting Free Rabies Clinic

TOMS RIVER-The Toms River Animal Facility will be holding a free rabies clinic on Saturday, January 14, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. until noon.

Ocean County residents are reminded to bring proof of prior immunization, if applicable, and proof the animal is spayed or neutered. That day, Toms River residents can also get their pet’s license renewed. Payment for licenses accepted in
cash or check. All dogs and cats must be leashed or in a carrier.

The Toms River Animal Facility is located at 235 Oak Avenue, adjacent to Police Headquarters.

Toms River dog owners are reminded that all dogs over seven months of age must be licensed each year, per State law. In Toms River, dog licenses must be renewed each year in January. In  order to purchase a dog license, the owner must present a current rabies shot certificate with an expiration date after November 1, 2017. If the shot expires before November 1st, the dog cannot be licensed.

The cost is $15 for a spayed/neutered dog and $20 if not spayed or neutered, with proof from a veterinarian, if not on file.

All pet licenses can be renewed in person at the Toms River Health Department, 33 Washington Street, or by mail.

Fitzpatrick throws two TDs as Jets rout Bills

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ryan Fitzpatrick, likely making his final appearance in a New York Jets uniform, threw a pair of short touchdown passes Sunday afternoon as the Jets routed the Buffalo Bills, 30-10, in the season finale at MetLife Stadium. Fitzpatrick, who threw a franchise-record 31 touchdown passes last season but was benched twice this…

No day off for Giants' starters in 19-10 win over 'Skins

LANDOVER, Md. — Each time the ball changed hands during Sunday’s game between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, the question was whether the Giants’ starters would still be in the game. As the game wore on, the answer remained affirmative. With the No. 5 seed locked up and no chance…

On the Agenda: 2017 Jackson Township Council Reorganization Meeting

by Phil Stilton

JACKSON-Few changes will occur at Tuesday night’s township reorganization meeting, the town’s 173rd such meeting.  The township will swear in incumbents Ken Bressi, Barry Calogero and Robert Nixon after the trio won an uncontested election in November.

Some changes are on the agenda, most notably the addition of former Superior Court judge Melanie Donohue Appleby is expected to replace New Jersey legislator James Holzapfel as township’s labor lawyer.

In 2014, Appleby was suspended by the New Jersey Supreme Court over after being found guilty of conduct violations related to her own child custody battle.   Appleby is a former Toms River Township councilwoman.  Appleby reportedly retired from her position as a judge in December, nearly two years shy of the end of her seven year appointment. As a judge, she earned $165,000 annually.

Another move by the township this year is the addition of Carlos Ferreira, esq. as an alternate public defender.

Down the list of professional appointments, the roster for the township remained the same.

The meeting will take place Tuesday night at 7pm.  Originally, the meeting was scheduled for 7:30pm, but a public notice published on New Year’s Eve changed moved the start time up by 30 minutes.

 

 

Clemson player gets a little too close to the end zone in BCS playoff game

Illegal touching on Clemson https://t.co/gIJ8yxGEKI pic.twitter.com/bTbH2VSaSH — SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) January 1, 2017 Sometimes in football you have to make the tackle or keep your hands on a guy until the official confirms the play is over. However, Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins might have gotten a little too personal doing so on this play.…

Family of Missing New Jersey Teen: We're at a loss

NEPTUNE — It’s been four weeks since the disappearance of a Neptune City teen after her car was found unoccupied on a Belmar bridge on Dec. 2. Sarah Stern, 19, left her family’s home in Neptune City at 11:45 p.m. driving her grandmother’s 1994 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Royal, according to her father Michael Stern. The car was…

Middle East Rings in New Year, 39 Dead in Night Club Attack

A shooting has taken place at the popular Reina night club in Istanbul, killing an unknown number of people and injuring others, according to witnesses and local media reports. Only few details were immediately available. (more) Credit: DHA FOR LIVE UPDATES: Twitter, Facebook The incident happened just before 2 a.m. local time on Sunday when heavy…

Lakewood Law Firm Files Federal Class Action Lawsuit Against Defective Turf Vendor

by Phil Stilton

LAKEWOOD-The Ocean County law firm of Bathgate, Wegener & Wolf, P.C. has joined forces with with national class action specialist Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, P.A., of Coral Gables, Florida, to file the first federal class action lawsuit in the United States against FieldTurf USA and its affiliates.

FieldTurf USA has come under fire across New Jersey after fields it promised would last 10 years began breaking down much sooner than the company guaranteed.  In the company’s advertising, they claimed, “Making the wrong turf decision can cost you a million dollars.”, but instead, their customers such as Carteret claim the fields will end up costing more to repair and replace.

The lawsuit claims Early on, however, FieldTurf internally knew that its marketing campaign was grossly exaggerated.

“Rather than adjust its campaign strategy to reflect this reality or simply warn existing and new customers about the defective nature of the Synthetic Grass Fields, FieldTurf chose to maximize profits and maintain its leading market share,” the suit claims.

Lawyers said a leaked internal email from FieldTurf executive Kenny Gilman revealed that in 2007, FieldTurf knew its marketing campaign for the affected Synthetic Grass Fields was “ridiculous” and opened up the company “to tons of exposure from a legal standpoint.”

The class action suit seeks over $5,000,000 in damages at the hands of FieldTurf and claims to have over 100 affected customers.

One of the earliest complaints about premature disintegration came in October 2006 after FieldTurf installed the new Synthetic Grass Field in a South American country. Laura Braga, FieldTurf’s operation director for FieldTurf Latin America, emailed Gilman, explaining that an artificial turf field using the old slim-fit fiber that was installed in 2003 was in better condition than the Synthetic Grass Field that was installed within the year. The new Synthetic Grass Field was displaying significant “premature wear.”

FieldTurf executives discussed the failures, but continued to keep the information from their customers according to the legal filing.

“Like other municipalities, school districts and public and private entities throughout the United States, Carteret purchased six synthetic grass fields from FieldTurf, which were marketed under brand names “FieldTurf,” “Duraspine” and “Prestige,” in reliance on FieldTurf’s representations,” the firm said.  “Carteret contends in the class action lawsuit that the fields are defective because the fibers that make up the fields deteriorate prematurely, sometimes in as little as two years, in stark contrast to the 10 year life expectancy represented by FieldTurf. Carteret asserts that FieldTurf knew through field inspections and independent testing that the fields would deteriorate much sooner than FieldTurf had represented to potential customers. Instead of advising their customers of these problems, FieldTurf chose to maximize profits by increasing the intensity of its marketing campaign designed around the false information.”

Carteret seeks immediate relief requiring FieldTurf to repair and replace the synthetic grass fields and to pay damages. Immediate relief is necessary and appropriate because of the risk of injury to those using the deteriorating fields.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court, New Jersey on December 14th.

New Jersey Could Soon Require Background Checks for In-Home Day Care Providers

by Phil Stilton

TRENTON-Those running family day care centers out of their homes in New Jersey may soon be subjected to federal background checks if a law moving through the state assembly reaches the desk of Governor Christie and he signs it.

The New Jersey Assembly wrote today:

All family day care providers would be required to undergo state and federal background checks under bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Joe Pennacchio and Shirley Turner and approved by the New Jersey Senate.

Under current law, prospective and current providers only have to undergo a child abuse registry check administered by the Department of Children and Families (DCF.) They are not, however, required to undergo standard state and federal criminal history record background checks.

“It is impossible to know how many child abusers are slipping through the cracks in the system without subjecting every day care employee to a criminal background check,” Senator Pennacchio (R-26) said. “Clearly, a child abuse record check is not sufficient enough to prevent predators from accessing our children. An innocent child who is cared for by a handful of people in a private residence is no less deserving of the State’s protection.”

A “family day care” is defined as a private residence in which child care services are provided for a fee to between three and five children at a time, for no less than 15 hours per week.

S-651 would mandate that all current and prospective family day care providers, as well as anyone who works at the day care, also submit to criminal background checks. 11 states currently have this law in place.

Under the bill, the New Jersey State Police would be required to notify DCF in the event that a current or prospective family day care provider is convicted of a crime or offense in this state after the background check has been performed. Additionally, anyone who refuses to submit to a background check would be denied an issuance or renewal certificate of registration as a family day care provider. Senator Pennacchio’s legislation is currently awaiting action in the Assembly.

“We cannot guarantee our children’s safety until we correct this unequitable, dangerous oversight in state law,” Senator Pennacchio added. “I thank Senator Turner for her leadership on this bill and I urge my colleagues in the Assembly to take up our cause as soon as possible.”

Bill to Protect Consumers from Post Disaster Price Gouging Passes Assembly

by Phil Stilton

TRENTON-After Superstorm Sandy, allegations over price gouging on items ranging from food to emergency essentials was prevalent around the county by unscrupulous business owners trying to cash in on the disaster.

If a bill passed by the assembly is signed into law by Governor Chris Christie, it was place a prohibition on post-disaster price gouging.

“The protections we put in place will deter businesses from taking advantage of consumers during a natural disaster by spiking prices for necessities, such as gasoline and groceries,” Senator Oroho (R-Sussex, Warren, Morris) said. “This bill will ensure business won’t be put at a disadvantage because of the inflexibility of the current protocol, and still protect consumers from price gouging tactics that threaten their welfare and safety.”

The legislation, S-2321, amends existing law to provide that it would be unlawful for any person to sell any product at an excessive price for a 30-day period following the declaration of a state of emergency. It also allows for the Governor to extend the period during which the price gouging prohibition remains in force.

Under current law, excessive price increases are prohibited for a period that extends to 30 days after the termination of a state of emergency. An “excessive price” is defined as more than 10 percent above the price of the item or service as offered immediately before the state of emergency.

“Every disaster is different, and a rigid, 30-day period might not work for every one of them,” Senator Oroho said. “We need to tailor these protections to fit each unique situation that arises. I think this will help us strike a balance between protecting consumers during a natural disaster and supporting businesses once the emergency is over.”

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.

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. 

 

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.