Just out of prison, man robs Toms River store again, cops say

Christopher Miller robbed Stride Ride in 1999. Shortly after serving 15 years in prison he returned to do it again, police said

Dumb crime

Dumb criminal.

Dumber the second time.

Just out of prison, man robs Toms River store again, cops say

Christie cancels inauguration party

Thank God for a snowstorm, I suppose. Timing couldn’t have been better..

Christie cancels inauguration party

Well this we now know: Jerseyites may be stronger than the storm, but someone has an ego is larger than the storm.

NJ Governor Christie announces plan to buyout Sandy-damaged homes in flood-prone areas

Which is better than his original plan of eating the properties.

6 months after Sandy, thousands homeless in NY, NJ

MANTOLOKING, N.J. (AP) — The 9-year-old girl who got New Jersey’s tough-guy governor to shed a tear as he comforted her after her home was destroyed is bummed because she now lives far from her best friend and has nowhere to hang her One Direction posters.

This is a must read.. we stopped attention too soon (like we do every time a disaster hits this planet..)

6 months after Sandy, thousands homeless in NY, NJ

Rumors and rumbles: What is New Jersey *and many other places* shaking?

Rumble in the Garden State..

Many websites had information about rumblings, booms, and tremors the other day…They remain a mystery, though all the likely sources like planes and military say they aren’t responsible . Is it natural gas? Chris Christie running for another donut?  A calamity coming to earth? …booms from aliens? Lots of strange theories abound. And while some laugh at those who are claiming the sky is falling, they don’t have any explanation themselves. Why did these booms take place, and where did three counties feeling the ground underneath them shake? This is a perplexing issue, isn’t it? And one that we should treat with some more respect instead of just mocking people who are fearful that the crust is shaking under our shoes. .. 

The thing I find the most fascinating about this story (and various others when they occur across the world) is that big media doesn’t show up to cover it. It’s local affiliates  small newspapers.. not CNN, FOX, or MSNBC.. instead people who want answers need to trudge through the millions of websites to find reliable coverage someone from a local network .. and even those stories shed little light on a subject that I believe demands greater attention..

Look.. you have a massive sinkhole in Louisiana that gets no attention. Sinkholes in Florida.. a man swallowed on a golf course on the 14th hole.. and years now of booms, rattles, tremors, all across the crust of the planet. There is something happening. Maybe science can explain it calmly and collectively. But no one from the science community has addressed it. Instead we’re left to our own demons.. speculating about what the noises could be, while others in the ‘mainstream’ laugh at conspiracy theorists who want answers.

Until you hear the booms or your house shakes, perhaps you won’t care. But when it happens to you? A whole different story —and if you’re a reporter, maybe a story you’d finally be willing to cover.

Tent cities are fast becoming prison camps for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Muddy camps where people can see their breath. Security guards watching every door. No cigarettes, no books, no board games, no TVs, no radios.. nothing. Just pure misery..

For those who think that the story of Hurricane Sandy has been written and all is well, think again. There are tens of thousands of people who have no where to live. Their agony is only beginning. The battle of hope vs loss of all hope is taking place right now across the East Coast, and in tent cities that were supposed to be temporary shelters.. shelters that are turning into incredibly difficult place to find shelter from misery ..

The lighter side.. though there isn’t much light about Governor Chris Christie, this picture made me laugh. I can picture a caption of Obama asking Christie, “Now Chris, I had a tuna sandwich on Air Force One, and it’s gone.. did you take my tuna sandwich?”

I’d love to hear your captions?

This is something I think we all feared would begin: Tempers are flaring in a NJ town where thousands are stranded

This is something I think we all feared would begin: Tempers are flaring in a NJ town where thousands are stranded

Something else to consider: New Jersey nuclear plants are bracing for the storm, too

The STAR LEDGER reports:

New Jersey’s nuclear plants are bracing for Sandy today, federal regulators and officials for PSEG Nuclear and Exelon said.

"We’ll have to see where it goes, but it looks like it’s going to have a pretty good hit on New Jersey," Sheehan said today.

Sheehan said that federal inspectors with satellite phones will be stationed at the plants through the storm.

Something else to consider: New Jersey nuclear plants are bracing for the storm, too

Maybe Governor Christie belched? A mystery boom has rattled New Jersey

Maybe Governor Christie belched? A mystery boom has rattled New Jersey

Atlantic City looks to bus more homeless back home

Atlantic City looks to bus more homeless back home

A cold spring night.

Before I write anything else, it’s worth noting: It feels like mid December .. And it’s spring time. The days are getting longer but not warmer, at least not here in the East, where cold seemingly snuggled into the lands back in January and stuck around ever since. Snowstorm after snowstorm, brief thaws that only turned to ice.. All that behind us, but what’s ahead? Apparently more snow—forecasters are at least speaking of some predictions that snow yet again will strike Coal Speaker home base by the middle to end of the week…

Nonetheless, tonight, as the sun’s final rays faded into black, a cold wind blew as I walked outside. And I couldn’t help but think of Long Beach Island.

I’m a part time vacationer—which means if I actually go on vacation I really don’t enjoy myself.. Something deep down prevents any form of relaxation, I guess. I imagine it will get even tougher with a child in the family—but at least now there is a rewarding reason not to relax.

But as a lover of Long Beach Island, I just can’t stop wondering how the little slice of paradise is tonight? 

The winds are cold there, too, I’d guess. But along with those cold winds come beautiful sites of a bay on one side of the highway and a deep and dark ocean on the other… 

I miss it. I hope to go  back. And I hope my wife and I can introduce a young and inquisitive Ayden to the little island as well.

Maybe he will become a lover, like me, of Chicken or the Egg. Maybe the little AM will enjoy the PM watching over the island from the lighthouse at the top.. And maybe even he, like me, will enjoy the humble rooms of the Buccaneer Motel.

I hope..

It’s been a while since I was there. Maybe this year I can get back there.. 

That is, of course, once these cold and biting winds go away and warmth comes back ..

No one ever wins when they fight against God.. Except maybe New Jersey

No really. Atlantic City’s Mayor said that Governor Chris Christie’s plans to take over tourism to benefit the state is a strike against God himself.

Although I would have to think if God gambled, he would head to sin city and tear it up a little before stepping foot on the Boardwalk of Atlantic City.