TIMES
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Inside This Week’s Edition
THE SOUTHERN OCEAN
Vol. 4 - No. 10
Business Directory...................22 Classifieds................................23 Community News.................8-13 Dear Joel..................................18 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News...............16 Government...............................7 Inside The Law .........................20 Letters to the Editor.....................6 Wolfgang.................................27 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
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A D�� I� T�� L��� O� A D����� B��� C��� By Daniel Nee LONG BEACH ISL AND – Beach replenishment is sometimes thought of as “building sand castles for rich people,” said one expert on board the Liberty Island dredge boat during a recent trip organized for a few members of the press and policy advocates. The hulking, 325-foot hopper dredge has been patrolling the waters off Long Beach Island on and off for the past year, taking sand from the ocean � loor and using its powerful engines to pump it through a network of pipes to the beaches a few miles west. There, crews spread the sand with bulldozers and similar pieces of heavy equipment with the goal of building a protective dune to prevent breaches in barrier islands like the one that occurred in Mantoloking in Superstorm Sandy – largely identi�ied as the event during the storm that led to massive �looding on both sides of Barnegat Bay. Life on the dredge boat is one that brings together varying �ields of expertise, from mechanics, to welders, to machine operators, to engineers. In charge of the operation at sea is Capt. James “Woody”
August 27, 2016
Stafford Pays $34K Settlement To Man Who Lampooned Mayor
By Daniel Nee STAFFORD – A township man will receive $34,000 in a settlement after he sued the municipality, claiming that he was unfairly targeted for a law enforcement investigation by Mayor John Spodofora. In his lawsuit, Earl Galloway, a retired Navy Master Chief, said that after he created a spoof Facebook page called “Spodophony,” which contained “accurate information to correct [Spodofora’s] exaggerations and fabrications,” regarding his service in the Vietnam con�lict, Spodofora �iled an identify theft charge against him, attempted to block Galloway’s membership into the Stafford Republican club and publicly accused him of “hacking into [Spodofora’s] child’s computer and stealing �iles.” Galloway also posted a photo of the mayor in special forces jungle gear, a reference to his claim that his service during Vietnam is “classi�ied.” Spodofora was a member of the United States Navy during the con�lict, however there is no evidence that he actually served in the
–Photos by Daniel Nee The crew and inner workings of the Liberty Island dredge boat, of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, who are dredging off Long Beach Island. Hoffman, a Panama City, Fla. resident who describes his vessel as a “24/7 operation.” “It’s a dangerous place,” he
(Settlement - See Page 4)
(Boat - See Page 5)
Tempers Flare Over $1M Price Hike For Basin Project
By Daniel Nee STAFFORD – The cost of the long-sought Neptune Basin project has increased by more than $1 million, and numerous Stafford Township officials say the state bureaucracy is to blame. The cost of the project, in the works for about four years, will rise $1,275,000 to $4,600,000 since it was first proposed. Mayor John Spodofora said
the increase was largely due to cost increases of around 30 percent since the township originally estimated the amount of money it would have to spend on the project. The revised figure also includes hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of environment studies – from snake studies to tree frog studies – required by the state Pinelands Commission, an agency
which oversees the area of New Jersey designated as the Pinelands, including a portion of western Stafford Township. In addition, Township Administrator James Moran said, Stafford taxpayers were required to fund a study of the project by one of the commission’s engineers, then hire a second engineer to refute his findings so permission to build the basin
could win approval. “All of that has driven the cost up,” Moran said, including an order by the commission to pay an extra $85,000 for a largely unknown reason. The revelations of the increased (Project - See Page 14)
–Photo by Daniel Nee The spot where a retention basin would go in Stafford is also where state officials are asking for more permits and studies, which is causing delays and higher costs, local officials said.
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