The weather reports say it will be too warm to snow on Thrusday and Governor Chris Christie is hoping the third time is the charm.
The twice postponed Town Hall Meeting on Sandy Relief Funds is now scheduled for Thursday, February 20th, 11am, at VFW Post 2179, 1 Veterans Way (Off Rt 36) in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown Township. Doors open at 10:00 am. Seating is first come first served. RSVP’s are requested via email at TownHall.Middletown@gov.state.nj.us.
Joining Christie will be Office of Recovery and Rebuilding Executive Director Marc Ferzan, Community Affairs Deputy Commissioner Chuck Richman, Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez, Economic Development Authority CEO Michele Brown and Banking and Insurance Commissioner Ken Kobylowski.
A mobile cabinet meeting to assist Sandy impacted homeowners and businesses is scheduled to follow the Town Hall from 12:30 till 2:00 pm.
Posted: February 18th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie, Christie Administration, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: Bob Martin, Chris Christie, Christie Town Hall Meeting, Chuck Richman, Jennifer Velez, Ken Kobylowski, Mark Feran, Michele Brown, Middletown, Port Monmouth, Superstorm Sandy, Town Hall, Town Hall Meeting, VFW Post 2179 | 3 Comments »
State Offices Will Open at 11 am on Tuesday

Photo by Paul Scharff
For the second time in a week the weather has caused Governor Chris Christie to postpone his first Town Hall Meeting since June of last year.
The Town Hall scheduled for Tuesday February 18th at the VFW Hall in Port Monmouth in postponed due to anticipated inclement weather.
Details of the rescheduled meeting will be released on Tuesday, the governor’s office said in a press release.
Additionally, the governor announced that a delayed opening of 11 am for all state offices on Tuesday to allow for ample time for roads, parking lots and sidewalks to be cleared and made safe for travel.
“Tonight’s winter storm is expected to last through tomorrow morning, bringing additional snow and creating hazardous travel conditions for the morning commute,” said Christie. “I strongly encourage all New Jerseyans to drive slowly and exercise caution on the roads tonight and tomorrow morning. I thank our state’s transportation crews and first responders for their tireless efforts to keep our residents safe.”
Posted: February 17th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: Chris Christie, Christie Town Hall Meeting, Middletown, Port Monmouth, Town Hall Postponed due to weather, VFW Post 2179 | Comments Off on Christie’s Town Hall Postponed Due To Weather
Christie Should Come Clean About RREM Snafus At Town Hall Meeting
The Christie Administration has terminated a contract with a second company it hired to assist survivors of Superstorm Sandy rebuild their homes, according to a report on WNYC.

Governor Christie announcing a second round of RREM assistance, and that fact that federal assistance to rebuild from Sandy will be $17 billion or more short, in Keansburg last week.
Photo by Paul Scharff
URS, a global San Francisco based engineering and construction management firm had a $20 million contract to supervise the rebuilding of New Jersey homes under the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program. The contract has been terminated. Homeowners are being informed by state officials that one of two remaining contractors will now supervise the rebuilding of their homes.
RREM provides $150,000 Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to New Jersey residents as “last resort” rebuilding assistance. The federal money is supposed to assist residents who have insufficient funds after insurance, other government assistance and private monies are exhausted. URS was one of three companies hired to supervise home rebuilding, according to the WNYC report. Residents who were working with URS have been assigned to one of the two other contractors. The amount of fees committed to the remaining two contractors has not been reported.
While the Christie Administration has received high marks for its administration of assistance to municipal governments and businesses impacted by Sandy, there is growing criticism and frustration over the repeated delays in getting assistance to homeowners.
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Posted: February 14th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: CDBG, Chris Christie, Community Development Block Grant, Department of Community Affairs, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: CDBG, Chris Christie, Community Development Block Grant, HUD, Richard Constable, RREM, RREM grants, Town Hall Meeting | 3 Comments »
DCA’s Sandy Relief Public Hearing Not Cancelled, “But Likely Will Be.”
Governor Chris Christie announced via twitter (h/t PolitickerNJ) that the Town Hall Meeting scheduled for tomorrow at the VFW in Port Monmouth has been postponed until Tuesday, February 18, 11 am, due to the anticipated snowstorm. The mobile cabinet meeting as also been rescheduled to follow the Town Hall.
A spokesperson for the Department of Community Affairs said that the public hearing on the second round of Sandy Relief funding scheduled for tomorrow at Brookdale Community College from 4 pm – 7:30 pm has not been rescheduled at this time, but that it is highly likely it will be. Registered participants in the hearing will get an email from DCA if they hearing is postponed.
Posted: February 12th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie, Christie Administration | Tags: Chris Christie, DCA, postponed, Sandy Relief Funding, Snowstorm, Town Hall Meeting | Comments Off on Christie Postpones Port Monmouth Town Hall Due To Weather
Governor Chris Christie will hold his first Town Hall meeting since June next Thursday morning in Middletown at VFW Post 2179, 1 Veterans Lane (Off Rt 36), Port Monomuth.
The Town Hall is scheduled to begin at 11 am. Doors open at 10 am. A mobile cabinet meeting is scheduled for 12:30 pm.
Seating is on a first come first served basis. No bags of any kind are permitted into the venue and personal items are subject to search.
RSVP’s are requested at TownHall.Middletown@gov.state.nj.us in order to accommodate sufficient seating.
Posted: February 7th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie | Tags: Chris Christie, Governor Chris Chrisite, Middletown Town Hall, Town Hall | Comments Off on Christie to hold a Town Hall Meeting in Middletown on Thursday
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Posted: February 5th, 2014 | Author: admin | Filed under: Bridgegate, Chris Christie, Dawn Zimmer, Hoboken, Port Authority | Tags: Bridgegate, Chris Christie, Christie Administration, David Samson, Dawn Zimmer, Hoboken, Hunterdon, NJ Spotlight, Port Authority of NY/NJ | 1 Comment »

Murray Sabrin, right, with Jay Lassiter, Jeff Gardner, then BlueJersey bloggers, Michael Aron, then of NJN, and MMM publisher Art Gallagher at a November 2010 shooting of Reporters Roundtable.
Murray Sabrin, PhD, the Ramapo College finance professor who challenged Governor Christine Whitman’s 1997 reelection as a Libertarian candidate and sought the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2008, wants another shot at the seat now occupied by Senator Cory Booker.
The professor has started the process of reaching out to party leaders, previous Republican Senate candidates and county chairmen to gauge and seek their support for the nomination that no mainstream Republican seems to want. Thus far, only little known small businessmen have taken steps to secure the nomination.
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Posted: February 4th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2014 U.S. Senate race, Murray Sabrin, Steve Lonegan | Tags: 2014 U.S. Senate race, Chris Christie, Christine Whitman, Cory Booker, Mark Sokolich, Murray Sabirn, Steve Lonegan | 5 Comments »

Governor Chris Christie and former Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Kelly at a happier time. Photo via facebook
Bridget Ann Kelly, Governor Chris Christie’s former Deputy Chief of Staff who sent the “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email to David Wildstein, then New Jersey’s #2 official at the Port Authority of NY/NJ, has invoked her fifth amendment rights and declined to produce the documents subpoenaed by the joint legislative committee investigating “Bridgegate,” the September lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, according to a report at NorthJersey.com.
Posted: February 3rd, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Bridgegate, Chris Christie | Tags: 5th amendment, Bridgegate, Bridget Ann Kelly, Chris Christie, GWB | 2 Comments »
Governor Chris Christie , Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable and Department of Environment Protection Commissioner Robert Martin will be in Keansburg to speak about the $1.4 billion “Second Round” of Superstorm Sandy Relief Funding on Tuesday, February 4 at 3PM.
The event will take place at the New Point Comfort Fire Company, 192 Carr Ave. Doors open at 2:30.
Posted: February 3rd, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie, Christie Administration, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: Bob Martin, Chris Christie, DCA, DEP, Keansburg, New Point Comfort Fire Company, Richard Constable, Sandy Relief Funds, Superstorm Sandy | 2 Comments »