Monday, May 13, 2013
A Patch letter to the editor
The following column was submitted by New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Mary E. O'Dowd: As New Jerseyans continue to rebuild and recover from Superstorm Sandy, mold and its remediation have become a challenging issue for many residents and communities. It can cause property damage and be a health concern when it grows inside homes and is not properly dealt with. Exposure to mold can cause coughing or wheezing as well as irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and skin. To help homeowners ensure that their residences are cleaned and remediated properly, the New Jersey Department of Health created and released a pamphlet entitled Mold: Guidelines for New Jersey Residents. This pamphlet can help residents identify mold in their homes…
Friday, May 10, 2013
FISHING FRIDAY: Blues swarming local waterways
It's funny what leads to some of our favorite moments on the water. Last Friday, I had set aside some time to help my neighbor fix her computer that's been on the fritz since she returned to Long Beach Island from Florida. But, to quote Seinfeld, yada yada yada, the computer cleanup was put off to another date. I used the time I had set aside to kill two birds with one stone: charge my boat's battery to full power (after its long winter's nap) with a lengthy run up Barnegat Bay, and fulfill the promise I made to all of you folks that I would check out the channels that lead to Barnegat Inlet and report the results. The results are mainly positive (mind the pun on the battery charging joke). I made my way to Barnegat Inlet in Double Creek …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Both the party boat crowd and shore-based locals getting in on the action
As local anglers try their collective hands at spring fishing after a tough winter all around, the striped bass seem to be cooperating as water temperatures slowly rise. Starting in the northern reaches of this column's publication area, the crew of the Big Mohawk out of Belmar finished their blackfish season this week and decided to dabble in the bass fishery on Tuesday. The result: everyone on board got their limit of stripers. "I know that is what so many of you have been waiting to hear," Capt. Chris wrote on the boat's website. The boat, which sails 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, had a similarly good day Thursday after taking Wednesday off. Few reports came in from the suds in the Manasquan and Point Pleasant areas, but anecdotally, anglers …
Monday, April 29, 2013
It's Air Quality Awareness Week
By William O’Sullivan, Director of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality: The Christie Administration is urging New Jersey residents to consider making simple lifestyle choices and changes to help improve air quality for everyone in our state, as we celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week, April 29 through May 3. Some basic changes to everyday practices, such as burning only well-seasoned wood in your fireplace, keeping your vehicle properly maintained, using environmentally friendly products or just turning off some lights in your home or office, can reduce air pollution and decrease your impact on the environment. New Jersey's air quality has improved greatly over the years as a result of laws regulating …
Many storm victims have become Sandy zombies
They are easy to spot. They don't smile much. They look tired. They are tired. They are numb. They are the Sandy zombies. They are fried emotionally and physically from half a year of battling to go home, if they still have a home to go to. I am a Sandy zombie. Is it possible it's been half a year since that horrific day and night when Superstorm Sandy blasted the Jersey Shore and changed some lives forever? Six months since we left our Bayville home with three terrified cats and made our way to family in Toms River? Six months since we've been living in a basement? We knew Sandy was going to be bad, even when we evacuated at noon on Oct. 29. Trees were already toppling in Pine Beach, taking down power lines. But we didn't know then we …
Friday, April 26, 2013
Season's first boat ride was pleasantly uneventful – and unusually meaningful
Barnegat Bay seems, well, okay. And yes, I have the video to your right to prove it. Dire predictions of floating debris, extreme shoaling and death traps lurking behind every channel marker didn't seem to pan out on my first boat ride of the 2013 season, which took place last weekend between Manahawkin and Long Beach Island. As we reported here on Patch, a few weeks ago, a group of folks from the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey hopped on board their vessels and took a ride through the bay to prove the waterway was safe following Superstorm Sandy. Things went well for them, as it did for my dad and I as we took the maiden voyage of 2013 together. "Lots of people are hearing rumors, we thought the best way to go is show them," Brick…
Monday, April 15, 2013
Letter to the editor
The following letter to the editor was submitted by Jennifer Velez, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services: It’s hard to believe how quickly time has gone by since Superstorm Sandy devastated many of our New Jersey communities, damaging homes and businesses and wreaking widespread havoc on the lives of Garden State families in its path. In the wake of Sandy’s destruction, we also saw the character of our New Jersey communities. Our people stood up in remarkable ways to help each other, to stabilize our state, and to take care of each other – because it’s what New Jerseyans do. The extensive physical damage from the rare superstorm was immediately evident, with storm-beaten homes, buildings and scattered debris …
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Geocaching as a way to get the kids out and moving
The countdown started at around 300 feet and grew louder as we walked closer. My eldest child, holding the GPS device, shouted ever-lowering numbers as we walked closer to our destination a mile deep into the woods at Shark River Park. “Two hundred,’’ she said. “One hundred feet! We’re almost there!” My other two kids wondered aloud what the treasure was gong to be at the end of this muddy hike. Their excitement was palpable, and gleefully unexpected. It was, after all, a hike through the woods, with nary a game system or television in sight. Yet these young digital natives, inundated with more media than any generation of humans preceding it, were actually enjoying walking through the mud on a sunny day in search of hidden treasure…
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The long slog to recovery is taking a toll
Show me the way to go home. Five months? Has it really been five months since the monster Superstorm Sandy roared into Ocean County and changed the landscape for all time? Has it really been five months since we fled our Bayville home and moved into my son and daughter-in-law's basement? I remember hoping in those first dark weeks that we might be back in time for Christmas. We are still out. It took awhile for reality to sink in. It took some time to realize that recovery, for many, won't happen quickly. And for some, it won't happen at all. I met a woman who lives on Cove Road West in Bayville at the township's informational session on home elevation recently. She moved into her house about 15 years ago and happily began making it a home…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
A look back at Toms River, Ciba-Geigy and Reich Farm
Chances are, many who lived in Toms River nearly 30 years ago didn't know that Ciba-Geigy was quietly pumping millions of gallons of treated chemical waste into the Atlantic Ocean every day. They didn't know about the 10-mile long pipeline that ran underground from the company's plant in North Dover, across Barnegat Bay and the barrier island and spewed its discharge 2,500 feet into the surf off Second Avenue in Ortley Beach. They didn't know until one spring morning in May 1984, when the pipeline sprung a leak at Vaughn and Bay avenues. Then everything changed. Then everybody knew. The pipeline leak spawned The Ocean County Citizens For Clean Water, Save Our Ocean and other nonprofit environmental groups. They all had one goal - to shut …
KC
12:00 am on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
And how potentially airborne is this mold is what I wonder? more ›