Free Republic

A diesel truck owner's battle with the state of New Jersey is leading to the scrapyard. Mike Sebold initially received a letter from the state's Department of Environmental Protection after listing his modified 2008 Ram 2500 on Facebook Marketplace. Officials took issue with the pickup's deleted emissions equipment and, in turn, told Sebold his truck must be returned to stock or taken off the road. But after he decided to turn in his plates and keep it for off-road use, Sebold claims they've forced him to make an appointment with the crusher. Updated at 1:30 p.m. ET on 09/14/2022: Sebold...

Several members of a New Jersey white supremacy organization showed up unannounced for the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade Monday wearing American flag masks and carrying a large banner that called for border closings. The town’s mayor Tweeted that the group, the New Jersey European Heritage Association, did not register for the parade, were treated as protesters and are not welcome in town. The Anti Defamation League classifies them as a hate group. In addition to American flag masks, the members of the group wore sunglasses to hide their identities. The group is known for posting fliers around New Jersey,...

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association is defending the design of a new pier it plans to build in the Jersey Shore community, despite backlash from some residents who say the structure too closely resembles a Christian cross on a public beach. The religious nonprofit organization’s chief operating officer, Jamie Jackson, said the group makes “no apology for that we love the fact that it looks like a cross.” When asked if Jackson’s statement meant the beach pier was, in fact, intentionally designed to look like a Christian cross, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association President Michael Badger said only, “it...

A beach pier in Ocean Grove destroyed during Superstorm Sandy is being rebuilt by a local religious organization, but the new shape has some residents concerned it too closely resembles a cross. Members of the small seaside town’s LGTBQ+ community and allies are saying the cross crosses a line, but many are afraid to voice their grievances with the Camp Meeting Association, said Douglas Grote, a local resident and retired Presbyterian pastor. The cross-shaped pier feels like “Christian bullying,” said Grote, who has penned letters to local and state officials asking for intervention. “I am so deeply concerned,” he said....

There’s another internet mystery to solve. Forget whether or not the dress is blue or gold. Don’t worry if they’re saying Laurel or Yanny. Is it a ghost or is it a symbol of the KKK? Or is it a KKK ghost? That’s what people in Jackson Township this week tried to determine at a home on Route 571 in a trailer park. Accompanying the ghost was a Confederate flag and a bald eagle. The display was first reported by NBC 4 New York, but is now going viral as people decide whether the homeowner is simply celebrating Halloween or...

LONG BRANCH, NJ – Police in Long Branch responded to a post-Juneteenth beach party in the area of Pier Village after reports of fights and vandalism had local residents, tourists and businesses concerned. Police in the city were supported by surrounding agencies after things got out of control. Police reported four arrests. “Yesterday, a beach party of what turned out to be thousands of young people from all over the state gathered along the beachfront around Pier Village,” the city’s Public Safety Director wrote in a statement. “The gathering started as a social media post which enticed young people to...

BRICK: Yesterday the massive brush fire blew east into Brick, and was burning at the Lowes on NJ 70. Many readers inquired about the status of Chick-Fil-A, which was closed on Sunday anyway. OCSN has no confirmation on any structural damage to the Brick restaurant; but surrounding CFA’s stepped in. The Howell Chick-Fil-A made and delivered sandwiches to the first responders fighting the fire. The staff and owners opened the Howell restaurant, which is normally closed on Sunday, solely to feed and appreciate the first responders. Way to go CFA! Yesterday, many of our team members came together with other...

A brush fire in Lakewood the Brick border Sunday afternoon grew into a major forest fire by the evening, damaging 30 homes and buildings and forcing the closure of the Garden State Parkway. The fire’s footprint was less than a quarter of a football field when first reported about 1 p.m. near Airport Road and Cedarbridge Avenue, officials said. It jumped across Airport Road and spread to nearby buildings before crossing the Parkway, Lakewood police Capt. Steve Allaire told The Lakewood Scoop. A neighborhood of homes was temporarily evacuated, and the parkway was eventually closed in both directions from Exit...

WASHINGTON, DC – Gladys Sicknick, the mother of the New Jersey native and U.S. Capitol Police Officer who died during the January 6th incursion of the U.S. Capitol was not killed by an angry mob of Trump supporters or beaten by a fire extinguisher. Instead, Mrs. Sicknick said she believes her son died instead of a stroke. Over one month later, his family still has few answers about his death. Mrs. Sicknick told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that she believes her son suffered a fatal stroke and discounted mainstream media accounts that claimed he was beaten to death with...

More than a month after New Jersey’s delayed primary, state election officials on Monday posted a roster of winning congressional and state legislative candidates along with details on voter turnout. Close to 1.47 million people voted in last month’s primary, which represents 38.7% of registered Democrats and Republicans and 26% of all registered voters. Some pundits had believed that mailing a ballot to all active partisan voters would lead to a higher turnout. While about 78,000 more voters cast ballots than in 2016, the last time the presidential race topped the ticket, the percentage of registered Democrats and Republicans was...

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – A Trump 2020 flag was attached to a telephone pole this week on a residential street in Jackson and some residents were upset about it. Jackson has been fighting right of way and utility pole usage battles with First Energy and local Jewish Orthodox residents for years, as they sought to attach eruv wires to the poles. This time, it’s an oversized Trump flag that has residents up in arms. Township code says no objects can be placed in the streetside right of way, but the township has found that the utility company owns the poles...

PATERSON, NJ – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced voting fraud charges against Paterson City Councilman Michael Jackson, Councilman-Elect Alex Mendez, and two other men in connection with the May 12, 2020 special election in the City of Paterson. All four men are charged with criminal conduct involving mail-in ballots during the election. The investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA) began when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service alerted the Attorney General’s Office that hundreds of mail-in ballots were found in a mailbox in Paterson. Numerous additional ballots were found in a mailbox in...

Secure drop boxes to provide alternative to U.S. Postal Service Secure ballot drop boxes allowing voters to bypass the U.S. Postal Service should be completely installed by next week, according to the New Jersey Secretary of State’s office. Gov. Phil Murphy required election officials to install five drop boxes in each county as part of an executive order establishing a primary election run almost entirely through vote-by-mail ballots. County clerks have already begun sending out ballots for the July 7 primary. The state Division of Elections have purchased 105 drop boxes that are being delivered to county election officials. All...

Election officials working on plan to replace lost ballots A mail truck in Morristown caught fire on Friday and some vote-by-mail ballots being delivered to voters were destroyed, the New Jersey Globe has learned. The U.S. Postal Service notified Morris County election officials on Monday morning that an undetermined number of ballots were burned. These were ballots being delivered to voters and not completed ballots on their way to the Board of Elections. Election officials are in the process of determining how to send out replacement ballots. It’s not immediately clear if the post office knows exactly which ballots were...

TOMS RIVER, NJ – Nearly 30,000 of our loyal and dedicated readers here at Shore News Network have taken an online poll in the past two weeks, and we’re not sure who the hell Monmouth University is calling, but our numbers are far different than theirs. Monmouth University reports that Governor Phil Murphy is the second coming of Jesus with a 75% approval rating. Look, Monmouth U., we love ya, you’re Jersey Shore like the rest of us, but please, stop polling Murphy’s closest friends and relatives in the future. The Jersey Shore has spoken, Governor Phil Murphy is a...

TOMS RIVER, NJ – You can’t help but to think Toms River Police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department are playing down Tuesday’s BLM protest being held in Downtown Toms River, but local businesses aren’t taking any chances and don’t have the same level of comfort as local law enforcement agencies. This afternoon, businesses began boarding up their storefronts from Route 37 down to Water Street ahead of the protests. We reached out earlier to both the Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little and Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy regarding several warnings of threats against the community on social media....

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – The Jackson Township governing body, including Mayor Michael Reina and other members of the Jackson Township Council and Jackson Township Planning Board were served today with a federal lawsuit, signed by U.S. Attorney General William Barr. In recent months, two members of the council have resigned over the impending suit. Barry Calogero, a Trump administration appointee with the U.S.D.A and Robert Nixon, a New Jersey State Police PBA lobbyist. Both Calogero and Nixon resigned their duties as elected officials in recent months ahead of the DOJ lawsuit. A release was issued by the Department of Justice:...

TRENTON, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy today apparently saw his shadow today, which means the New Jersey COVID-19 lockdown will continue for at least another 30 days with no clear plan for residents or small business owners who will remain out of work during that time. “I’m signing an EO to extend our public health emergency by 30 days,” Murphy said today. “To be clear: this does not mean we’re seeing anything in the data which would pause our path forward. These declarations, unless extended, expire after 30 days. We’re still in a public health emergency. If this extension signals...

TOMS RIVER, NJ – Years ago, political double-dipping, holding of more than one public job by a public official, was a big problem. Governor Chris Christie enacted a law to prevent double dippers at the state level, including local Mayor Michael Reina of Jackson. Reina worked as mayor of Jackson and held a politically appointed state job at the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security. When Christie enacted his double-dipper law, Reina was forced to stop taking his municipal salary and was eventually given a new double-dip safe haven in Ocean County. Christie’s law prevented state-level double dipping, but one...

LAKEWOOD, NJ – Friday was the third day of an ongoing FBI investigation in Lakewood Township related to medical equipment, but officials are still not even confirming the existence of the action. It started Wednesday when over one dozen agents showed up at Lakewood Industrial Park warehouse. WEDNESDAY Agents showed up at a warehouse at approximately 4:30 pm located at 1980 Swarthmore Avenue. The warehouse of Deco-Tile was where the agents were entering and exiting, later some were seen bringing out boxes of medical supplies. No visible arrests were made. We contact the FBI Newark office who declined to comment...