Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
THE BRICK
Vol. 14 - No. 50
Inside This Week’s Edition
Business Directory............................ 22 Classifieds......................................... 21 Community News.......................... 9-13 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News...................... 16 Fun Page .......................................... 23 Government ....................................... 8 Inside The Law ................................. 26 Letters to the Editor ............................ 7 Wolfgang ......................................... 27 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving Brick and Lakewood Townships
Tourism Numbers Show Peak Year
April 9, 2016
BlueClaws Start Season Away
LAKEWOOD – The BlueClaws opened the season on April 7 in Lexington, Kentucky against the Legends (Royals). Opening Day at FirstEnergy Park, presented by Jenkinson’s Boardwalk, is April 14 at 6:35 p.m. against the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Marlins). The roster includes 2015 Phillies first-round pick Cornelius Randolph and fellow top prospect Franklyn Kilome, both ranked
among the top ten prospects in the system per Baseball America. Randolph, an outfielder, is ranked sixth in the system per Baseball America, while Kilome, a pitcher, is ranked seventh. Additionally, among the BA top 30, pitcher Alberto Tirado (18th) and catcher Deivi Grullon (20th) open the season with Lakewood. Randolph, from Williamson, (BlueClaws - See Page 5)
In Raising Homes, New Stairs Eating Up Real Estate
–Photos courtesy Casino Pier, and Brick Times archives Ocean County officials are hopeful 2016 will be another year of tourism growth, as the state said 2015 was a peak year for tourism dollars, thanks to events such as Gentlemen of the Road. There’s new attractions such as Smuggler’s Quay in Seaside Heights for 2016, but the strength of the beachfront and Six Flags helps bring the county tourism dollars. By Catherine Galioto OCEAN COUNTY – County officials looked back to 2015 to predict an even stronger tourist season ahead. Saying tourism is the county’s number one industry, freeholders reported recently tourism counted for $4.6 billion of the local economy last year. That’s up from $4.3 billion in 2014. Those dollars are driven by attractions such as the oceanfront beaches, boardwalks and their attractions for day trippers and vacationers, but also in the Pinelands with Six Flags Great
Advent u re a nd t he g row i ng agri-tourism economy. “There is no question that tourism is the number one industry in Ocean County,” said Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari in a prepared statement. “These numbers prove that tourism is not only strong, but is growing.” Vicari’s comments followed a report from the state Division of Travel and Tourism on the statewide tourism figures from 2015, that said “good summer weather and the fading memory of Sandy helped” the year’s numbers grow. Statewide, tourism demand grew
3.3 percent in 2015, reaching $43.4 billion. The state uses figures such as its receipt of taxes on hotel beds, as well as the collection of tolls, employment reports, sales tax and more, to gauge its findings for the annual report. In 2015, Ocean County tourism generated $451.4 million in state and local tax revenue, and more than 37,000 tourism-related jobs were created here. That means Ocean County now accounts for more than 10 percent of all tourism dollars generated in the state, making it the third (Tourism - See Page 4)
– Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn of Brick home raising By Catherine Galioto BRICK – Elevating homes to new heights can be a daunting process, as builders adhere to zoning setbacks to account for new stairs, platforms, elevators and more inside and outside a home. Building stairs and landings to get to the higher front door often takes up real estate in front of a home, where zoning laws would normally require a variance to place the foot of stairs that close
to a property line or street as a “yard encroachment.” These design elements as homes are raised are raising questions for towns, who are also seeing their boards of adjustment managing a large amount of requests for variances. In Toms River, residents asked local officials how the lot sizes on the barrier island could accommodate the steps and stairwells now required of the raised homes, (Housing - See Page 14)
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