The BERKELEY Times Vol. 26 - No. 21
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
New Strip Mall Opening This Winter
Marijuana Referendum Passes In Jersey
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News! Page 10-11
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 16
Dear Pharmacist Page 17
Inside The Law Page 19
−Photos by Chris Lundy The new strip mall has five units and will be open in about three months. By Chris Lundy BEACHWOOD – It was a bit of a mystery at first. All of a sudden, the buildings were knocked down on the southbound side of Route 9 between Tiller Avenue and Beach Avenue. There used to be
an eBay store, a vape store, and a dentist’s office. All of that is gone now. For months, people wondered what was going in that place. T he C u l l i n a n c on struction fence went up and the frame soon after, but it still wasn’t
clear what form it was going to take. Finally, once the windows and doors were installed, it took on a familiar shape. It looked like a strip mall, and that’s exactly what it’s going to be. The new building will have five units, but it
November 7, 2020
has not yet been made public what the tenants will be. The timeline for completion will be about three months, taking us to the beginning of the new year, an official said. “It’s going to be an incredible development
By Chris Lundy NEW JERSEY − The question on the ballot was “Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called ‘cannabis?’” The answer is apparently yes. According to poll results, a majority of state voters agreed that adults 21 or older can use cannabis. The referendum question will also have the Cannabis Regulatory Commission oversee New Jersey’s medical cannabis program and the personal use cannabis market. As the legalization goes through, the product will be subject to state sales tax. Individual towns could charge their own taxes for it as well. However, individual towns have the right to choose whether cannabis will be allowed to be sold within their borders. They do this through zoning regulations, not criminal laws. Some towns, like Berkeley Township, have already publicly called for a ban on sales in town. Other governing bodies, like those in Toms River and Manchester, have stated that they wanted to see what the state rules would look like before making a decision on banning it. The reason for this is the assumption that state laws would overpower any local ones. One town, South Toms River, actually put out an informal vote in a previous year.
Officials: Protect Your Family From Officials: Social Security Increase Not Enough COVID This Holiday By Chris Lundy The Township Council passed a resolu- tions have been taken on it. BERKELEY – Members of the governing body spoke out against regulations that make daily life too expensive for seniors. Simply put: the costs go up much faster than Social Security. The latest Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security will be 1.3 percent, starting in January of 2021. “I think that’s a slap in the face,” Mayor Carmen Amato said.
tion in support of HR-8600. This bill, if made into law, would tie future increases of Social Security to the senior consumer price index. This is a statistic maintained by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. It calculates the annual costs for an average American aged 62 and older. The bill, sponsored by Congressman Chris Smith (R-4th), has been introduced for this session of the House but no ac-
(Mall - See Page 4)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics explains on its website that the senior consumer price index is a good way of measuring cost of living, but has some problems. Since it averages out costs across the entire nation, it becomes inaccurate for very wealthy or very poor districts. Amato listed other costs that keep going up for seniors: utilities, Garden State
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(Officials - See Page 4)
By Alyssa Riccardi OCEAN COUNTY – Although a possible pending vaccine may be on its way for COVID-19, the Ocean County Health Department is urging residents to still follow precautions. Recently, many states a re exper ienci ng a
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