The BERKELEY Times Vol. 26 - No. 41
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Streets Flood With Saltwater In Shore Community
Police: New Law Prevents Investigating Child Marijuana Use
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News Page 11-12
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 16
Dear Pharmacist Page 17
Inside The Law Page 19
Flooding lingers on Seabright Avenue on a sunny day without any rain. By Chris Lundy BERKELEY – A lagoon community along the Toms River has seen flooding so bad that they often have to park several streets away and wade to get to their homes. They’ve been asking for help from local officials. However, everyone agrees there are
some serious issues and a short fix isn’t going to do the job. The neighborhood is off Bayview Avenue. The intersection of Narragansette and Longport avenues is one of the main spots. The area is low lying, so rainwater does tend to accumulate. But the residents have also
said that the really bad flooding is saltwater, which means there’s something even more challenging going on. It also means that it can damage cars if you drive through it. Longport Avenue resident Donna Amon said that the area was flooded for four days once. In one instance, she
─Photo by Chris Lundy couldn’t get her car out to get her COVID-19 vaccination. Beach Place resident Michelle Hawkins said that the pitch on three streets is such that the water runoff goes toward Narragansette. “The water is flowing in waves dow n the street,” she said. (Floods - See Page 8)
Police: Forest Fire Intentionally Set
By Chris Lundy LAKEWOOD – The forest f i re that destroyed 167 acres, evacuated residents, and hospitalized a firefighter was intentionally set, investigators said. Early in the investigation, fire personnel had determined where the fire started but did not say how it was started.
Now, the investigation has deter mined the worst case scenario. “We have located the origin of the fire and have concluded that the fire was intentionally set,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. The blaze star ted out as a brush fire at 5 Airport Road in Lake-
wood on the afternoon of March 14. It was first spotted by a New Jersey Forest Fire Service Observation Tower in Lakewood. It quickly spread to buildings and multiple units responded. Ultimately, two commercial buildings were destroyed. There were 29 homes with damage
to siding, sheds, and other such accessory structures. It leaped across the Garden State Parkway, closing that road and several others. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported that it claimed 167 acres. Firefighters battled it overnight. The fire spread th rough d r y
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conditions and high winds. A firefighter from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service suffered cardiac arrest during these efforts. He was transported to Hackensack Meridian Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township where he is reported to be in stable (Fire - See Page 10)
By Bob Vosseller POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Even before the passage of November ballot question regarding legalization of marijuana, residents, municipal leaders and law enforcement agencies pondered how it would be administrated. When new state laws were announced in Trenton, it didn’t take long for them to receive criticism by many Ocean County municipal leaders. Police said the new laws were “handcuffing” their ability to do their jobs. Point Pleasant Beach Police Chief Joseph A. Michigan, who serves as president of the Ocean County Chiefs of Police Association, joined 30 th District Sen. Robert W. Singer, 10 th District Assemblyman John Catalano, Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Gary Quinn, Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy, local elected officials and police chiefs to discuss their concerns over the new state marijuana laws. During the recent press conference held at a police substation on the borough’s boardwalk, those assembled spoke about why the new laws were detrimental and would severely impact shore communities and families. Chief Michigan said, “The law inexplicably bans police officers from notifying parents the first time their children are found to be using or in possession of marijuana or alcohol. Overreaching even further, the law criminalizes the good-faith actions of police officers who, smelling marijuana, try to investigate the underage use or possession by a child. “While those in New Jersey voted to legalize cannabis for adults, Trenton has taken the extraordinary leap to pass a law that goes far beyond the voter mandate to include de-facto legalization of marijuana and alcohol for children,” he said. (Rally - See Page 4)
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