Community Corner

State Wrap: Flooding; Concerns Over Beach Access; Hoboken Nation's First 'Stigma Free Zone'

This week's top news from around New Jersey

The final decision on beach access rules still lies in the hands of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Raymond Cantor, the chief adviser to DEP Commissioner Bob Martin Tuesday morning.

“We still set the standards, but if a municipality can provide a better way, we’ll work with them,” he said after opening the forum by stating he was there to address the “misinformation” concerning the new rules. “Our goal is to provide better access in more appropriate locations.”

Residents from up and down the shore filed into the Townsend Residential Life Center at the college, coming from Long Beach Island, Stone Harbor, Avalon and Cape May. All had various concerns, but chief among them was too much power being given to municipalities when it comes to 

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

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Heavy rains brought the usual result—flooding—around New Jersey this week. Check out photos from Montclair .

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

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Hoboken officially became the on Tuesday, during a ceremony hosted by the Hudson County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

"Basically, we're making a statement," said Brenda Luchetti, coordinator of the event. "Mental illness is a disease and the stigma is part of the problem."

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Princeton Township Police reported residents in the township in the area of Ober Road, the Russell Estates development and Winant Road shortly before 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

Township Animal Control and the NJ Divsion of Fish and Wildlife were notified of the sighting, but they advised no effort should be made to trap or confine the bear.

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An armed robber Tuesday night and then fled with another person in a black sedan, police said.

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Camden County's emergency notification system since it started in 2009, the county recently announced.

Through the program, county residents can receive emails, texts, pages and pre-recorded phone calls from the Camden County Office of Emergency Management. 

“Residents can visit the county website to select the means by which they would like to be notified in case of an emergency,” said county Freeholder Rodney Greco, liaison to the county Office of Emergency Management.

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The host of “America’s Most Wanted” used his speech in Westfield Sunday night to in New Jersey, along with educating the audience about child safety.

John Walsh, who was propelled from his life as a South Florida hotel builder to be a safety advocate following the 1981 abduction and murder of his son, Adam, told the audience that New Jersey needs to be in compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act’s sex offender registry guidelines, along with implementing DNA collection upon arrest in the state.

“New Jersey has not deemed it important enough to pass the legislation,” Walsh said to the audience at the Presbyterian Church, which included Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), the ranking minority member of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. “What the hell is New Jersey waiting for? Saddle up guys.”


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