The Future of Lakewood

[YitzyS]

https://www.app.com/story/news/investigations/watchdog/government/2022/02/02/howell-township-nj-council-pay-raises/9306442002/

'It's turned very political': Howell Township Council decides not to raise their own pay
Alex N. Gecan Asbury Park Press
Published 5:01 a.m. ET Feb. 2, 2022
HOWELL - The Township Council unanimously agreed to forego 60% raises Tuesday, but not without a few potshots back and forth.
An ordinance change would have hiked the members' pay from $7,500 to $12,000 a year, and locked in 2% raises each year. But at Councilwoman Evelyn Malsbury O'Donnell's suggestion, the members voted instead not even to consider the ordinance change.
"When this first started, I thought of this as a forward-thinking policy," O'Donnell said at the beginning of the meeting, when council members and administrators give reports. "I think that it's turned very political."
The proposed raises began as a line item buried in this year's $195 million budget, allocating the higher amount for council members' and mayor's salaries. But since council members' pay is set by ordinance, the new rate did not take effect when the budget was passed or even when the fiscal year began.
To change the ordinance, the council must first introduce the change at one meeting and have a hearing and a vote at the next. In January, the five members voted on party lines — all three Republicans for, both Democrats against — to introduce the change.
Mayor Theresa Berger, a Democrat, said at the time it was "an insult to Howell taxpayers" for the Republicans to have voted in favor.
On Tuesday, O'Donnell, a Republican, suggested that the mayor's "good living" — Berger is
CEO of Lakewood-based Ocean Health Initiatives, a non-profit medical organization with locations in other Jersey Shore towns — may have been "a factor" in Berger's "no" vote.
Berger shot back that she owed no apologies for becoming successful.
"My salary has nothing to do with what I do as a mayor," Berger said.
The four council members present — Berger, O'Donnell and Republicans Suzanne Brennan and Deputy Mayor Pamela Richmond — all voted to withdraw the ordinance change.
Democrat John Bonevich was absent. Bonevich also works in part for Ocean Health Initiatives, as director of marketing and advertising, in addition to his other private-sector jobs.
Also on Tuesday, the council appointed Camille Mussari to the Howell Alliance and filled two alternate seats on the Planning Board. The spellings of the new alternates' names were not immediately available.
The council was scheduled to name a new appointee to the Manasquan River Regional Sewerage Authority following the resignation of Robert Nicastro, but he rescinded his resignation before Tuesday's meeting. Nicastro also sits on the township Planning Board and is himself a former deputy mayor.
Alex N. Gecan covers local news and unsolved mysteries for the Asbury Park Press. You can reach him at 732-547-1365 or agecan@gannettnj.com, or follow him on Twitter @GeeksterTweets.

[Euclid]

This article (and the TLS one) leaves out the most important detail: he wrote the Facebook post caption - "this is for you JC". Clear religious bias/hate.

NBC also leaving out this very important detail.

https://lnnnews.com/2022/02/02/update-lakewood-snow-plow-victims-are-now-pressing-charges-in-possible-hate-crime/

[Lurker]

This article (and the TLS one) leaves out the most important detail: he wrote the Facebook post caption - "this is for you JC". Clear religious bias/hate.

IME, "JC" is used as a religiously affiliated abbreviation in our communities more than in non-Jewish ones. JC is also a common nickname.

[Euclid]

JC is also a common nickname.

I've literally never heard this nickname before - what's it an abbreviation for?

[Euclid]

IME, "JC" is used as a religiously affiliated abbreviation in our communities more than in non-Jewish ones. JC is also a common nickname.

@CountValentine what do you think he meant?

[Lurker]

I've literally never heard this nickname before - what's it an abbreviation for?

Juan Carlos, for one. But I've actually known many people (mostly rednecks) who go by JC (both men and women).

[CountValentine]

@CountValentine what do you think he meant?

First thing I thought was Jesus Christ but I don't and don't know anyone that would use JC.

IME, "JC" is used as a religiously affiliated abbreviation in our communities more than in non-Jewish ones.

Do they use it to mean Jesus Christ?

[Euclid]

Juan Carlos, for one. But I've actually known many people (mostly rednecks) who go by JC (both men and women).

Interesting - guess I interact with a different population. Northeast

[CountValentine]

Interesting - guess I interact with a different population. Northeast

Any two initials can be a nickname.
I had CL and you will never guess what it stood for so don't even try.

[Lurker]

Interesting - guess I interact with a different population. Northeast

My rednecks are in the NE, but probably a little closer to the Mason-Dixon Line.

[Euclid]

First thing I thought was Jesus Christ but I don't and don't know anyone that would use JC. Do they use it to mean Jesus Christ?

Yes

[CountValentine]

Yes

Thats not nice. 

[Euclid]

Thats not nice. 

I mean it's better than JFC

[CountValentine]

I mean it's better than JFC

Ouch!

[aygart]

One thing that is gooing mostly unnoticed is how this video was discovered by one website and then every single frum website plagiarized it without crediting the one that broke the story @Yehuda57

[YitzyS]

One thing that is gooing mostly unnoticed is how this video was discovered by one website and then every single frum website plagiarized it without crediting the one that broke the story @Yehuda57

Which website broke the story?

[Euclid]

One thing that is gooing mostly unnoticed is how this video was discovered by one website and then every single frum website plagiarized it without crediting the one that broke the story @Yehuda57

Which one was it? LNN?

ETA: seems like TLS had it first

[Randomex]

This article (and the TLS one) leaves out the most important detail: he wrote the Facebook post caption - "this is for you JC". Clear religious bias/hate.

I don't think Christians commonly refer to That One Guy that way
(and he's not on the first page of Google results for [who is JC]).

[aygart]

Which website broke the story?

ONE website broke it. That you can't find which one says everything.

[Yehuda57]

One thing that is gooing mostly unnoticed is how this video was discovered by one website and then every single frum website plagiarized it without crediting the one that broke the story @Yehuda57

They aren't plagiarizing because it was posted to Facebook by the guy himself. They *should* give credit to the Scoop (I believe) for discovering, which I saw many news articles did, probably no frum ones though.