Monmouth County Fair Cancelled

State of Emergency declared in Freehold Borough

The Monmouth County Fair has been closed today, Sunday, due to wind damage caused throughout the fairgrounds at East Freehold Park Showgrounds last evening, according to the county website.

APP and NJ.com are reporting that Freehold Mayor Nolan Higgins has declared a state of emergency in the borough as numerous streets are closed due to fallen trees and 90% of the town is without power.

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Mallet slams Burry, “Club Monmouth” over Brookdale scandal

Burry on Mallet:  “She’s a fraud, she a fraud, a fraud, fraud, fraud!”

Former Freeholder Amy Mallett, a Democrat, laid the blame for the Brookdale Community College scandal that lead to former college president Peter Burnham pleading to guilty to theft by deception and official misconduct earlier this week at the feet of the Monmouth GOP’s “cozy” relationship, “Club Monmouth” with the leadership of college.

In an OpEd piece published in The Asbury Park Press, Mallet took aim at Republican Freeholder Lillian Burry and her campaign treasurer, John Cantolupo who was the Brookdale Board of Trustees’ lawyer at the time Burnham’s lavish contract and spending irregularities were uncovered.

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Judge Escandon no longer ruling on divorces.

Multiple divorce litigants with cases before Judge Paul X. Escandon have told MMM that they have been informed by Monmouth County Court personnel that Escandon will no longer be hearing their cases.

Judge Lawrence M. Lawson, the Assignment Judge of the Monmouth County Vicinage, confirmed the change in Escandon’s assignment.

Escandon will be hearing non-matrimonial cases, those of unmarried couples with children and/or property who need the Court’s involvement to resolve their differences and post-divorce cases that he currently has, according to Lawson.  All family court judges will hear post divorce matters that are 12 months old or more.

Lawson said that the change is the result of his reassigning Judges to cope with the Court’s four vacancies and the temporary elevation of Judge Michael Guadagno to the Appeals Court.

A group of thirty women lead by former Long Branch resident Rachel Alintoff have been fighting get to Escandon recused from their cases and removed from the bench for several months due to what they say is a pattern of improper and illegal rulings regarding custody and support in favor of their wealthy estranged husbands.  There complaints have ranged from revoking custody without a hearing to emanicipating a disabled teenager in order to void child support.

Alintoff brought her plight to Governor Chris Christie’s attention at a Town Hall meeting in Garfield on May 2.   Since then the Advisory Committee on Judical Conduct has initiated an investigation into Escandon’s rulings based on Alintoff’s complaints and those of at least ten other women and one man.

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Christie in Manasquan this afternoon

Governor Chris Christie will kick off his “Endless Summer Tax Relief Tour” in Manasquan this afternoon at 3PM.

In the first of several stops along the Jersey Shore this summer, Christie will speak at The Pavilion at the Manasquan Inlet,  431 Beach Street.

During the Endless Summer Tax Relief tour, Christie will call for Corzine Democrats to stop holding tax relief hostage.

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Outdoor water use restrictions modified

Alternate day watering with handheld garden hoses OK between 5am-9am and 5pm-9pm

New Jersey American Water Company has modified the restrictions on outdoor water usage for its Monmouth County customers.

From the company’s announcement:

Customers may now use handheld garden hoses for outdoor purposes, every other day, between the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., and again from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. With very limited exceptions, lawn sprinkler irrigation system use is still banned. Even with the easing of the ban’s restrictions, New Jersey American Water is strongly advising its Monmouth County customers to continue conserving water both inside and out. If strict conservation measures are not followed then it may be necessary to reinstitute a stringent outdoor water ban.

The odd/even schedule is effective beginning today and entails:

• Handheld garden hose outdoor water use between the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  on odd-numbered days of the month if your street address is an odd number (i.e., 23 Oak St., 7 Maple Ave.)
• Handheld garden hose outdoor water use between the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  on even-numbered days of the month if your street address is an even number (i.e., 6 Oak St., 354 Maple Ave.)

Exceptions are:

• Watering of new sod or seed if daily watering is required (note: it is recommended that any planting of new sod or seed that has not already taken place be delayed until the fall)
• Use of private wells for irrigation
• Commercial uses of outdoor water, such as for nurseries, farm stands, power washing, plumbing, athletic fields, and car washes

As the system continues to stabilize, customers may experience discolored water. New Jersey American Water recommends running the water until clear. However, the discolored water could be used for the watering of shrubs and garden plants.

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NJAWC evaluating stability of fix before lifting outwater use restrictions

Connecticut engineering firm will determine the cause of the failure

Photo credit: New Jersey American Water Company

New Jersey America Water Company announced today that the “temporary fix” of water mains at the Swimming River Water Treatment Plant have been completed, they “hope.”  The company is evaluating the stability of the system before lifting the ban on outdoor water usage for the company’s Monmouth County customers.  They hope to be able to lift the outdoor water use ban in the near future.

The company’s statement said that the 24 inch water main pictured to the left is sending 12,000 gallons per day of treated water to Middletown.

Peter Escbach, NJAWC’s spokesperson, told the Asbury Park Press that confidential company reports indicated that the two evalutions of the site following Tropical Storm Irene, one by the company and another by an independent contractor, showed that the bridge and water mains that failed last week continued to meet manufacturers standards despite the slight movenment of the pipes and damage to the bridge caused by the August 2011 storm.

Ocean and Coastal Consultants Inc. of Trumbull, Connecticut has been hired by NJAWC to determine the cause of the major infrastructure failure.

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Serena DiMaso measures up well as a freeholder

Takes on the weighty issues

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Name that lawyer/politican Poll Closed

That decorated tricep belongs to Marlboro Council President Frank LaRoccaMMM received an emotional email from Frank LaRocca this morning asking that we not make political fodder of his new tattoo.

The tattoo is a tribute to LaRocca’s recently passed law partner, Andrew Hegt, who died suddenly at the age of 35 on June 14.  Hegt was the father of five children, including newborn twins.

“My tattoo is St. Andrew’s Cross and the Scales of Justice,” said LaRocca, “it is an artistic tribute to a man I loved dearly and who died tragically.”

LaRocca has created the Hegt Memorial Fund with an initial goal of raising $100,000.  LaRocca says he’s raised $40 thousand so far. $6,506 has been raised on the fund’s website.

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Water main repairs going better than expected

Well water nourishing the Asbury Park Press grass roots

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden told MMM that repairs to the water mains at NJWAC’s Swimming River Water Treatment Plant are going better than expected and that the restrictions on outdoor water usage may not last weeks as many have feared.

If NJAWC’s progress continues at the present pace, alternate day outdoor usage could be permitted in towns serviced by NJAWC next week. 

Golden said the outdoor ban is a public safety measure in the event of a fire. NJAWC is bringing water in from neighboring water companies to service its Monmouth County customers and water pressure remains below normal.  Monmouth County and State officials are requiring water conservation to ensure that resources are available to respond to a life threaten event if necessary.

Only properties with well water, like the Asbury Park Press in Nepture Township, are permitted to water lawns, wash cars, etc.

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Scudiery: Democratic County Candidates Should Resign

Former Monmouth Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery

Former Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery told MMM that he thinks his party’s nominees for freeholder and county surrogate should resign their candidacies and let the new Chairman, Vin Gopal, and the Democratic County Committee select new candidates.

The freeholder candidates, former Hazlet Mayor Kevin Lavan and former State Trooper William Shea, along with surrogate nominee Michael Steinhorn, all supported Gopal’s opponent, Marlboro Council President Frank LaRocca, in last month’s Chairman’s race.  Gopal won the chairmanship with over 70% of the vote, over 80% excluding Marlboro.

“I don’t know why they did that (took a position in the Chairman’s race),” said Scudiery, “LaRocca must have promised them something.  I don’t see how the rank and file supports them now.”

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