The Jersey Shore is officially open for summer, Gov. Chris Christie said as he spent Friday morning in Seaside Heights promoting tourism in New Jersey.  Early Friday, Christie appeared on NBC's Today Show, which broadcast its morning news program live from Seaside Heights. The governor later cut a ceremonial ribbon — a Guinness World Record at over five miles long — to officially declare the shore open.  "It's an incredible day for New Jersey," Christie said in remarks. "I'm so thrilled that this morning we're here with the whole country welcoming the Jersey Shore back." After being battered …

Though immense devastation from Superstorm Sandy remains visible up and down the New Jersey coastline, beaches, boardwalks and even rental homes are ready for the annual influx of summer tourists that will begin this weekend, officials said Thursday at the annual "State of the Shore" event in Belmar. The State of the Shore report is presented by state officials and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium every year before Memorial Day weekend kicks off, but this year it evolved to mark the unofficial reopening of the Shore area following Sandy. With emergency repairs to state and local …

With winter weather still moving through the region, NJ Transit has extended full systemwide cross-honoring through the end of the service day Friday, March 8, enabling NJ Transit customers to use their ticket or pass on an alternate travel mode—rail, bus or light rail, as well as private carrier buses.  NJ Transit continues to monitor the storm and take steps to minimize delays and ensure service reliability and safety.  All customers are strongly advised to check njtransit.com before traveling for up-to-the-minute service information before starting their trip. High winds reported …

When David Scott Ruddy was arrested in Woodbridge for allegedly flimflamming Hurricane Sandy victims out of $50,000 in FEMA funds, there was one person who not only knew who he was, but had been calling and warning officials about him for months. That was Kathleen Marchitto, who met Ruddy first at a shelter put up at an Old Bridge school, and then later when she and other hurricane victims were moved to the Red Cross shelter set up at Livingston College of Rutgers University in Piscataway. Marchitto, whose South River apartment was flooded during the October hurricane, was at the Livingston …

Gov. Chris Christie, in a joint statment with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, applauded the "critical" Sandy aid approval by the House of Representatives Friday, but said the $9.7 billion outlay is merely a "down payment." "While we are pleased with this progress, today was just a down payment and it is now time to go even further and pass the final and more complete, clean disaster aid bill," they said. The U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure Friday afternoon allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to borrow $9.7 billion to pay insurance claims made by victims of …

Gov. Chris Christie is placing blame for the lengthy delay in approval of a Hurricane Sandy Relief bill squarely on the shoulders of combative U.S. House of Representative Republicans, specifically Speaker John Boehner. Christie offered a scathing rebuke of Boehner and waffling Republicans during a press conference in Trenton Wednesday afternoon, saying Congress has failed in its primary purpose, to protect its own citizens. Residents of New York and New Jersey are being used as pawns in a game of politics, he said, and that's why this country's citizens "hate" Washington D.C. "Last night, …

Much of New Jersey was spared the Hurricane Sandy storm surge that destroyed so much of the shore areas. But for those who missed that part of the hurricane, the next worst thing that happened was the loss of electric power. In some parts of the state, the power outages lasted for as long as two weeks. Now the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) wants to know what consumers think about how their local electric utilities handled the hurricane. The BPU is seeking public input in a series of public forums throughout the state. Two hearings involving the performance of Jersey Central Power…

Jersey threw a rocking party and everyone was invited—except Sandy. On Sunday, a crowd of over 400 turned up for Unite 2 Revive, a benefit concert held at Jersey’s Sports bar & Grill in Neptune. The event raised $5,800 for the Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross to help with their Sandy disaster relief efforts, according to Unite 2 Revive publicist Deirdre Anne Lopian. “It has been an extremely stressful two weeks. Everybody is affected by the storm in one way shape or form. Why not come out, have a good time, listen to the music, dance to the bands. And at the same time, you’re …

Vice President Joe Biden visited Seaside Heights today to view damage caused by Hurricane Sandy - saying "this is a national responsibility" - according to the Associated Press. “We have an awful lot of work to do,” AP quoted Biden as saying. He added, “This is going to be a long process. This is going to be an expensive process." Chairman of the candidate screening committee for the Ocean County Democrats Kevin Barron discussed Biden's visit with Patch today. "We heard some saying, [when President Obama] visited, that he was only here because he was campaigning. But here [Biden] is after the…

At the concrete barricades that seal off Ortley Beach, Bay Head and Seaside Heights from everything else, fully-armed police officers peek through dimly lit cars, looking for any trouble they can find.The clouds that hover over them never seem to leave, covering what's left of the shining sun, long before it's ever supposed to set. Each officer is bundled in burly black jackets, pointing flashlights in each passing car before turning them away. Wearing knitted hats that nearly wrap around their eyes and ears, these officers are mere shadows with badges, figurines with no faces that stop …

  Thirteen U.S. Senators - including Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) - on Tuesday called on President Barack Obama to amend his 2013 budget to request emergency aid for federal disaster assistance programs in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.   The senators want Obama to act quickly so the necessary funds can be used to help victims of Sandy rebuild and recover. The Senators also requested an increased federal share for recovery costs.  Sens. Lautenberg and Schumer were joined by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tom Carper (D-DE), Christopher Coons (D-DE…

New Jersey has entered a new normal, Gov. Chris Christie said Monday. With the recovery effort largely concluded, the focus of state and federal agencies will turn toward rebuilding the parts of New Jersey devastated by Hurricane Sandy, he noted during an appearance at the newly established Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Joint Field Office at the former Avaya building in Lincroft. “We’ve returned to a sense of normalcy, that’s why I have the fleece off,” Christie said, joking about his signature accessory at a series of press conferences and appearances across the state. “It’s …

The region took a battering from Hurricane Sandy, and that includes the sturdy wooden poles that hold up utility and telephone lines. More than a few crashed down in the hurricane's wake. Many more are leaning dangerously over to one side or another from the high winds.  PSE&G said since they began restoring service after the hurricane, they've replaced at least 2,500 utility poles and 1,000 transformers, as well as cut down more than 41,000 trees that were impairing their ability to get to electrical lines. If you have a crooked utility pole on your street, the company wants you to report it…

Governor Christie said he may lift gas rationing on Monday. The governor, speaking at a press conference in Seaside Park on Friday, said the rationing has worked well and eased congestion at gas stations. But he expects all power to be restored by Sunday, so rationing should therefore end. The following counties are now limited on the days in which they can fill up their gas tanks: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren. According to the state, plates ending in an even number can fill up on even-numbered days of the month, …

It's day 12 since Hurricane Sandy hit, and PSEG has hit a milestone. The company says it has restored electricity to 98 percent of their customers in their service area, and they're hoping to make it 100 percent by Saturday. Ralph LaRossa, president and chief operating officer of the company, said in a media update conference call -- the last he hopes he'll be having to discuss Hurricane Sandy and the nor'easter that tore through the area Wednesday -- that even with service restoration, the work isn't over yet. He gave a big thanks to the 4,500 linemen who poured into New Jersey from all over…

The clouds are lifting in PSEG's service area. Ninety-seven percent of the utility's 1.7 million customers affected by Hurricane Sandy last week have had their power restored, the company said in their latest update. That leaves 45,000 still without power from the hurricane. More good news from Wednesday's nor'easter is that 20,000 customers who lost power had it restored by 8 pm Thursday night. This included customers affected by an equipment failure in the substation located in the Sewaren section of Woodbridge. Affected customers who got their lights back on last night were located in …

Gov. Christie told a gathering on Long Beach Island on Wednesday that the coming Nor'easter and anticipated snowfall would likely cause "a setback" in the work underway for full power restoration. Boy, he wasn't kidding. JCP&L, on its website, is acknowledging that the nor'easter has created new outages, often for customers who were hit with outages in the height of Sandy's destructive path, had power restored and are now in the cold darkness yet again. "Late Wednesday, heavy, wet snow and high winds from the nor'easter resulted in approximately 120,000 additional power outages in the Jersey …

Middlesex and Mercer Counties took the brunt of Nor'easter Athena's heavy, sodden snow Wednesday, said Ralph LaRossa, president and chief operating officer of PSE&G in a morning conference call. LaRossa said he had had a meeting with mayors from the area in East Brunswick yesterday when a 69,000 volt line in the substation there blew but was quickly repaired. As of Thursday morning, 40,000 PSE&G customers were impacted by up to six inches of snow from the nor'easter, while 70,000 customers were still suffering from the lack of electricity from Hurricane Sandy last week. "We've been making …

As the named Nor'easter Athena slams into central Jersey, PSEG said they're doing everything they can to get the lights back on. As of a 6 pm update, the utility said that the nor'easter has caused an additional 60,000 power outages statewide. That number, the update said, is expected to increase as strong winds arrive with the storm tonight. Linemen can work in the rain, said PSEG spokeswoman Rena Esposito. But the high winds make it dangerous for them to work in bucket trucks they use to complete work on elevated wires. Federal law prohibits work in the trucks in winds greater than 40 mph. …

Hurricane Sandy may help New Jersey survive the nor'easter scheduled to hit the state Wednesday. That's because, with all the Sandy power outages, PSE&G president and chief operating officer Ralph LaRossa called in the cavalry - that is, linemen and workers from other states who flooded into the state to help restore power. Just Tuesday, LaRossa spoke on a media conference call and trumpeted that the company obtained the services of another 600 linemen, coming in from Pennsylvania, just last night. "We got them to work quickly," LaRossa said. As of today, there are 3,900 outside personnel to …