Thursday, March 7, 2013
Residents must call the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs to report their problems with utilities, county will advocate on their behalf
Don't take no for an answer. Call us. That's the message Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari wants to get out to Superstorm Sandy victims who are still receiving utility bills, even though they may have lost their homes or been displaced. "If they have an issue with a utility company, call us up," he said. 'We will do the best we can." Residents need to call or e-mail the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs with their information before they county can act on their behalf, Vicari said. The phone is 732-929-2105. The fax is 732-506-5330. The e-mail is ConsumerAffairs@co.ocean.nj.us. And he has no patience for utility officials who say they are billing customers fixed costs, not actual usage. "I don't care," he said. "This is the worst storm…
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Freeholder wrote letter to President Obama asking that Ocean County senior programs be excluded from possible cuts
Ocean County will continue nutrition programs for the elderly, even if the proposed sequestration cuts go through on Friday, Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said today. Without the nutrition program, elderly and disabled people who are unable to cook for themselves will "wind up in the E.R.," Vicari said at a Ocean County Board of Freeholders caucus meeting today. "We will do something to maintain services," he said. "We will continue the program. You don't cut programs as important as the senior programs." Vicari wrote to President Obama on Feb. 25, asking his help to prevent "severe cuts" in the nutrition program. "We would need to cut 26,000 meals in Ocean County, when we already have a wait list of almost 200 people for home-delivered …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs working on survey to address the problem
Call it adding insult to injury. That's Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari's reaction to utilities that continue to send bills to Superstorm Sandy victims who may not even have a home left or one they can live in. "If you lost your home, it no longer exists," he said at the Feb. 21 Board of Freeholders meeting. "But you are still getting a bill." Vicari said he has already spoken to Jersey Central Power and Light representatives, who have agreed to make corrections in bills sent to residents who lost their homes or are displaced. "Adjustments will be made," he said. "We are working on that. We hear what people are saying." Many residents who have been displaced are now actually being double billed - first for utility usage in homes they can no …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari doesn't want to lose valuable tourism dollars to competing states
"Virginia is for lovers." "The Outer Banks of North Carolina is an endless source of inspiration. Visit Outerbanks.org." These are not the kind of commercials Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari wants to see flashing across television screens in Ocean County and along the East Coast, not if he can help it. Vicari - who serves as liaison to the county's tourism bureau - is looking for the state to provide $3 million to produce commercials touting the Jersey Shore. And he wants it soon. Very soon. "We lose it this season, they are not going to come back to Ocean County," Vicari said at an Ocean County Board of Freeholders meeting this afternoon." The state needs to shore up its $4 billion tourism industry and let visitors know the Jersey Shore will …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Ocean County Board of Freeholders looking for ways to streamline process as much as possible
Ocean County will not recover from Superstorm Sandy in a matter of weeks or even months, Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said today. "It's going to be years," he said. Kelly made the remarks at the Ocean County Board of Freeholders caucus meeting, a meeting dominated by the storm that ravaged Ocean County on Oct. 29. And while much of the slow recovery process depends on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state and local municipalities, the county needs to do as much as possible to provide guidance, Kelly said. "We want them to know county government will do everything to help them," Kelly said. "Every phone call we have received is unique and very time-consuming." Gov. Chris Christie "did his best to provide some sort of …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Beach replenishment and rebuilding will bring Ocean County shoreline back to life, freeholder says
The wounded oceanfront towns of the Ocean County shoreline will be reborn with a lot of hard work, Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said. "We will not withdraw from the barrier islands," Vicari said today. "We will do everything possible to replenish beaches and property as soon as possible." County officials will make it a "top priority" to work with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials and other agencies, said Vicari, who serves as liaison to the county's Division of Travel and Tourism. Vicari also said he plans to speak to Jersey Central Power & Light officials about better coordination of emergency crews on the ground to help out in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. "We need better management of the outside electrical company people…
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Power restoration, communication were good in wake of Saturday's storm, officials say
For months, Ocean County Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari criticized officials of Jersey Central Power & Light over a lack of communication and a lack of responsiveness in the wake of Hurricane Irene. On Wednesday, Vicari said the company's response after a powerful thunderstorm rolled through the Shore area was much better. "We got a personal commitment from their president for extra crews and extra manpower," Vicari said, citing a meeting he had with JCP&L president Don Lynch that occurred July 3. "JCP&L did keep their word," he said. "Under the conditions they did a good job." The fast-moving thunderstorm, which packed wind gusts up to 78 mph and lightning that killed a woman in Monmouth Beach and struck numerous trees and buildings …
Its over!
6:19 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
By the way speaking of JCP&L did anyone submit a food claim to them for food loss, power was out here for about 3 1/2 weeks. more ›