Ocean County, New Jersey

Toms River's Township Council unanimously introduced zoning to add 140 apartments, including 28 affordable units, at Jamestowne Village, and approved converting 19 market-rate units to affordable at Autumn Ridge. But the council again failed to act on most of its court-ordered fourth-round affordable housing plan, originally due to the state in March. Mayor Daniel Rodrick accused the council of "betrayal"; council members blame him for the Jamestowne expansion. Fair Share Housing has asked a judge to enforce a 2025 settlement and strip the township's builder's remedy immunity, which could allow higher-density projects to bypass local zoning. A hearing is set for December 7, with disputed Route 70 and Route 9 parcels central to the standoff.

Ocean County, New Jersey voters on Tuesday decide a contested Board of Commissioners race and a ballot referendum that would nearly double the county's open space preservation tax. Republican incumbent Frank Sadeghi, seeking a second term, faces Democrat Kia Phua, a Berkeley-based union official aiming to end a 37-year Democratic drought in countywide office. Sadeghi has emphasized infrastructure and managing rapid population growth; Phua is campaigning on property taxes, affordability and vendor-contract oversight.

Separately, voters will weigh raising the Natural Lands Trust Fund tax rate from 1.2 to 2.2 cents per $100 of valuation, unchanged since 1997, which officials estimate would add about $20 million annually for land preservation.

Three Toms River seats on the nine-member Toms River Regional Board of Education are contested this year, with the race colored by an ongoing feud between Superintendent Michael Citta and Mayor Daniel Rodrick over test scores, spending and Citta's new contract. Incumbents Ashley Lamb and James Capone are running with newcomer Gerard Nappi on a "Protect What Matters" ticket, facing a "Finance, Education and Accountability" slate of Anthony Colucci, Elizabeth Huber and Laura Picurro, plus independent candidate Kristen Hanson.

Property taxes dominate the campaign after steep increases tied to falling state aid and a $306 million budget; challengers cite spending growth and Citta's raise, while incumbents point to preserved schools and stability. Campaign donations linked to Rodrick's former chief of staff and a developer suing the township have added controversy.

Since 2001, Lakewood Township has transferred 220 acres of public land near the Jersey Shore BlueClaws stadium at no cost to a development arm of Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG), a large Orthodox Jewish yeshiva. The entity, Cedarbridge Development, has resold the land to builders for nearly $70 million, while developers have saved over $8.6 million through local tax breaks (PILOTs) since 2018. A 2010 lawsuit challenging the deal as unconstitutional was dismissed. Constitutional experts say the arrangement may violate the state constitution's "gift clause" barring giveaways of public property without clear public benefit.

The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation is now examining similar municipal land deals involving PILOT tax breaks statewide, without confirming whether Lakewood is a specific target. The scrutiny comes as Lakewood faces a budget shortfall, a hiring freeze, and warnings of 2027 layoffs.

Robert Shea II, 42, a Berkeley Township resident and attorney for the Jackson Township planning board, was arrested Oct. 22 on two counts of distributing child sexual abuse material. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Shea allegedly used a Snapchat account to send and receive the images. The case began with a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, routed through the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children task force. Investigators traced IP addresses to Shea's Berkeley home and a Toms River office before executing a search warrant that uncovered the Snapchat account on his devices. He is held at Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing. Jackson Mayor Jennifer Kuhn has called for his removal from the planning board and ended the township's relationship with his law firm.

A New Jersey Superior Court judge cleared the way Tuesday for the Ocean County Board of Elections to continue inquiries into the voting eligibility of dozens of Bay Head residents, denying an emergency injunction sought by the ACLU of New Jersey on behalf of the League of Women Voters. The plaintiffs argued the challenge process, aimed at registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters whose tax bills are mailed out of town, amounted to a politically motivated purge during the pre-election quiet period. The board countered that it is simply fulfilling its duty to verify domicile status.

A tense public meeting followed the ruling, with the evenly split board's Republican chairman George Gilmore and Democratic secretary Wyatt Earp clashing over a list of 39 flagged voters submitted by a local GOP official that included no Republicans. Several voters have already been removed or asked to be removed from the rolls. Gilmore drew sharp backlash, including for a joking remark about immigration enforcement being "on call" at the polls. The ACLU and League of Women Voters are weighing an appeal.

The Ocean County Board of Commissioners approved the preservation of nearly 90 acres of open space and farmland in September, using the county's Natural Land Trust Fund to secure properties in Eagleswood, Berkeley, and Plumsted townships. The largest deal, a 78.35-acre tract along Route 9 in Eagleswood that had been at risk of a nine-home development, cost $850,000. Berkeley received a 1.22-acre donated parcel linking existing preserved land and trail networks, while Plumsted saw the county pay $255,000 for development rights on a 9.97-acre farm, keeping it in private agricultural use under a permanent easement.

The acquisitions push the trust fund's total preservation past 30,000 acres of open space and 3,600 acres of farmland since the program's 1997 launch. The timing is notable: on November 3, Ocean County voters will decide a ballot measure to raise the trust fund's tax rate from 1.2 cents to 2.2 cents per $100 of equalized land value, a move that would expand the program's future buying power.

In October 1977, 122 members of the Matawan Regional Teachers Association pleaded not guilty to contempt of court before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Merritt Lane Jr. in Freehold. The teachers were accused of defying a Sept. 16 order from Judge Thomas Yaccarino directing them back to work during what became the longest teachers' strike in Monmouth County history, then in its 12th day. If convicted, teachers faced up to six months in jail and $1,000 fines, while the union itself could also be fined. Judge Lane scheduled separate hearings for high school, middle school, and elementary/central office staff through late October and denied a request for jury trials.

Negotiations between the MRTA and the regional Board of Education remained deadlocked over a three-year economic package, with union president Marie Panos accusing the board of inflating cost estimates to mislead the public.

In related historical coverage, Ocean County, New Jersey posted the state's largest crime increase for the first half of 1977, part of a decade of rapid population growth in the once-rural county.