Weather: 76° Overcast.
22 Tamuz 5786
- Gas prices went up today in Lakewood by 28 cents from $3.72 to now $3.99 a gallon
- Americans will soon be able to take passport photos at home with a phone or laptop camera instead of visiting CVS, Walgreens, or another photo service, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced. The photos would be verified in real time using facial recognition, per the State Department.
- NJ Assembly GOP Get this! GovSherrill NJ held a press conference today and took credit for a $25 electric bill credit. She didn't mention it was $100 last year. That's one way to define "affordability."
- Stats from the National Weather Service the heaviest rain fell in Neptune City in Monmouth County, where 5.74 inches were measured. The Allentown area of Monmouth County was blasted with 4.53 inches of rain.
Lakewood - 2.85 inches
Jackson - 2.59 inches
Brick - 2.31 inches
Toms River - 1.99 inches
Howell - 2.22 inches
- JCP&L total customers still affected in NJ 20,690
Lakewood Township 28 of 37,021 (< 1%)
Jackson Township 10 of 23,877 (< 1%)
Toms River Township 10 of 49,352 (< 1%)
Manchester Township 5 of 27,536 (< 1%)
Brick Township 234 of 36,268 (< 1%)
Howell Township 43 of 22,043 (< 1%)
- A 38-story building in New York City a Midtown Manhattan high rise evacuated after construction workers discover buckled columns sagging floors and falling bricks. 42nd & 43rd streets near 2nd avenue closed as DOB assesses the danger.
- ICE arrested approximately 10,000 people over a five-day period at the end of June, marking one of the agency's largest recent enforcement operations as it ramps up President Trump's mass deportation agenda. Agents were seen today in Howell area.
- Giyus: The new proposal in Israel would give both IDF soldiers and full-time yeshiva and kollel students special recognition in a Basic Law, saying that both contribute to the State of Israel in different ways It will give stronger legal protection to government funding for yeshivos and kollelim.
- As JCP&L power outages stretched into a fourth day following the holiday weekend, Jersey Shore officials sharply criticized the utility over slow restoration efforts and poor communication. Several local leaders are now calling for a state investigation after residents endured days without electricity during extreme heat (APP)
- AOC soars to an all-time high in the odds to be the 2028 Democratic nominee.She’s now within 2 points of Gavin Newsom.
- NJ Gov. Sherrill, facing criticism for lack of public appearances after severe thunder storms that knocked out power for thousands and caused damage and flooding, just updated her public schedule with site visits to Camden and Oakhurst, where a BJ's store's roof collapsed. App
- Lakewood township committee will hold a special online meeting tomorrow to approve the renewal of the liquor license for Lake Terrace hall , allowing the business to continue serving alcoholic beverages under License
on the agenda approve the ordnance for the CHEMED medical village in the Airport Business Commercial Zone
-Bais Reuven Kamenitz 831 Ridge Avenue Preliminary and Final Major Site Plan for a school addition
- Lakewood board meeting recap:
The Lakewood Zoning Board heard several major applications Monday night, highlighted by the denial of a proposed 71-lot development at Augusta Boulevard and Cross Street, behind The Fairways.
The application sought approval for 66 duplex residential lots, three stormwater lots, one retail/office lot, and one lot for a shul. The applicant's attorney argued the township needs more housing so children can live near their parents and said the project would create less traffic than other uses permitted on the property. The applicant testified the site could legally be developed with four schools and several wedding halls, adding that he was simply explaining the property's existing development rights, while also noting Ocean County's plans to widen Cross Street to five lanes.
The proposal drew strong opposition from residents, particularly seniors from The Fairways, who cited traffic, safety, and quality-of-life concerns. Several noted that the nearby Eagle Ridge development will already add significant housing, while others warned about school buses sitting in traffic on Cross Street with children onboard. One resident criticized the attorney for repeatedly referencing schools as an alternative use, calling it an inappropriate scare tactic. After lengthy testimony, the board voted to deny the application.
The board also approved Chestnut Equity's four-story apartment development off Route 70, despite the project being tied up in ongoing litigation. During public comment, a resident's questioning led to a tense exchange, with board officials urging him to finish more quickly and joking that board members were hungry.
Another proposal by nine property owners near Cross Street and Massachusetts Avenue seeking approval for 37 residential units was tabled after board members raised concerns with the application.
- Brick, NJ Mayor Lisa Crate is urging residents to purchase flood insurance and have emergency plans in place, warning that rising sea levels, stronger storms, and heavier rainfall are increasing the township's flood risk. Brick has more privately owned waterfront miles than any other municipality in New Jersey and has experienced repeated flooding in many neighborhoods. APP
- CNN pundit Scott Jennings I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes
- JCP&L : Crews continue working around the clock to restore power following consecutive severe storms that caused widespread damage across our service area. With power restored to over 300,000 customers, more than 2,900 JCP&L personnel along with outside support from FirstEnergy sister companies and contractors, are focused on restoring service to the remaining 40,000 customers. The vast majority of those currently without service are expected to have power restored today or tomorrow, with the remaining outages largely restored by Wednesday.
Many of the remaining outages involve substantial repairs, including replacing broken poles, repairing damaged power lines, clearing fallen trees from electrical equipment and rebuilding sections of the system damaged by the storms. Because restoration work is prioritized based on restoring the largest number of customers first, outages affecting smaller groups of customers may take longer to restore even as crews continue making significant progress. Other locations may require multiple repairs or specialized equipment. While significant progress has been made, crews continue to encounter areas with extensive storm damage, difficult terrain and access conditions that can extend restoration times
-The death toll in Venezuela earthquakes rises to 3,342.
- Trump: Toyota is moving from Mexico to the United States (Texas!). A really big deal. Tariffs at work! President DONALD J. TRUMP
- President Trump announce it's time to remove U.S. sanctions on Turkey, saying his administration is working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials to make it happen. "There's plenty of people who can sanction... We don't want to have sanctioned friends."
The young businessman is on his way to acquire 'Arkia' Israel airlines, Rabbi Ezra Unger, a 36-year-old real estate entrepreneur from Borough Park, is in advanced negotiations to purchase the Israeli airline 'Arkia': "The mass. Chilul Shabbos desecration of the Sabbath is what pushed him to take this step" according to kikar Shabbat news
- Multiple explosive devices detonated near the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, Syria where French President Emmanuel Macron stayed overnight, The blasts occurred as Macron met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace - At least 18 people were wounded, including four police officers.
- Lakewood Bikur Cholim, together with Hatzolah of Central Jersey, is encouraging eligible men to take part in a life-saving platelet donation drive on Tuesday, July 7, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Community Medical Center, Auditorium C, 99 Route 37 West, Toms River.
I dont like the equivalency of the IDF where men and women sleep in the same bunks, where Shabbos desecration is a policy of the IDF, where kashrus is at best kosher style of the 1950s and where a woke feminist pride agenda runs the show with Torah learning. I oppose this as the IDF is tuma.
ReplyDeleteLet me understand this.
ReplyDeleteTariffs were placed. They were overturned by the Supreme Court. But without being imposed, they 'worked' on Toyota.
And people in Lakewood support this cretin?!
:The elephant in the room that everyone on the Lakewood zoning board already knows is that housing is no longer affordable for the average Lakewood family.
ReplyDeleteYoung kollel couples who grew up in Lakewood are increasingly being forced to move to Jackson, Howell, Manchester, and other nearby towns because they simply cannot afford to buy a home here anymore. Yet we keep hearing the same narrative that Lakewood needs more housing. The reality is that much of the housing being approved is not affordable for the very people it is supposedly intended to help.
Today, new construction duplexes are selling for close to $1.5 million. So who exactly is buying these homes? It certainly isn't the average homegrown Lakewood family or young kollel couple. These homes are being purchased by wealthier buyers, many from outside the community, while local families are priced out.
Please stop repeating the claim that approving more luxury development is solving Lakewood's housing crisis. It isn't. If the new housing isn't affordable for local families, then it does nothing to address the real problem.
Even Chasidiishe communities are establishing new neighborhoods in places like Okeechobee, Florida, and other areas because housing in their established communities has become unaffordable.
At some point, we need an honest conversation about whether these development approvals are truly serving Lakewood residents or simply maximizing profits for developers at the expense of taxpayers, traffic, infrastructure, schools, and overall quality of life.