Community Corner

State Wrap: January Snow Record, Lord's Prayer Controversy

This week's top news from around New Jersey

After yet another snowstorm hit New Jersey on Wednesday and Thursday, State Climatologist Dr. David A. Robinson confirmed that this month's snowfall for January set in 1894.

As of Thursday night, a total of 30.9 inches of snow fell this month in New Brunswick, which is used as the yardstick for measurement.

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Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

State Sen. Robert Singer, whose district includes portions of Ocean and Monmouth counties, on Tuesday that would reinstate the death penalty in New Jersey for certain offenses. Under the proposed bill, those who kill an on-duty police officer, murder a child or commit a terrorist attack resulting in fatalities could be put to death.

Singer's legislative district includes Lakewood, a town that lost police officer Christopher Matlosz to an execution-style on Jan. 14.

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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Following Mayor Vincent Barrella's announcement that the Point Pleasant Beach Council would observe a moment of reflection for Matlosz along with the audience at Tuesday's council meeting, Councilman Frank Rizzo despite Superior Court Judge Vincent Grasso's order last month to stop the practice.

Point Pleasant resident Sharon Cadalzo has sued the borough for saying a sectarian prayer that shows preference for certain religions. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Cadalzo, is seeking reimbursement of about $40,000 in legal fees. Barrella said after Tuesday's meeting that "We need to get this case resolved."

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Joyce Swarthout, owner of Leisure Travel in Berkeley Heights, that although travel has neither decreased nor increased this winter, a good number of locals were able to skip some of the wintry weather because they planned a vacation ahead of time.

"We've had a lot people traveling through the holidays and we've had a lot of bookings in place through the new year," Swarthout said, adding that the top destination was the Caribbean.

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Neither the foul weather nor fear of foes kept Gov. Chris Christie from holding one of his signature town meetings at the VFW Post No. 2179 in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown on Wednesday. The governor in front of a crowd of roughly 350.

“I was raised in a household with an Irish father and a Sicilian mother,” Christie said. “This means that I’ve been in conflict resolution all my life. I am ready.”

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On Monday night, Hoboken's famed "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro debuted a new cooking show on TLC called wherein he trades his baker's apron for a snappy button-down shirt and cooks Italian "family recipes" in a super bland suburban kitchen.

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The Great Swamp Watershed Association of Morris and Somerset counties as part of $3.2 million in clean water grants being handed out by the state. The grants, funded through the Department of Environmental Protection's federal Clean Water Act Section 319(h) Grant Program, are designed to reduce the amount of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution entering the state's waters.

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Girls on the Run of NJ East—a branch of an international organization whose mission is to "to educate and empower" young girls at risk by boosting their body image and self-esteem—celebrated its at a gala event Thursday in Florham Park. The organization has active programs in Maplewood, Millburn, Morristown, Princeton, Chatham, Berkeley Heights, Florham Park, Hopewell, Mendham and Summit.


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