Vital infrastructure improvement and humanitarian services projects in Lakewood championed by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) have been included in the federal funding bill passed by Congress and are now slated to receive more than $5 million in federal funding to help build new roads aimed at alleviating traffic congestion, repair public buildings, expand childcare and elderly care services. "These moneys I secured for my district will also go a long way toward ensuring that elderly residents and child... Read more

By Jonah McKeown CNA Staff, Feb 9, 2024 - The bishops of the United States have urged Congress to pass a bill aiming to combat human trafficking that would, among other things, provide grants to aid organizations in areas with high rates of trafficking. The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 (H.R. 5856), sponsored by Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, would reauthorize a number of previous anti-trafficking measures first passed i... Read more

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times - Thursday, February 1, 2024 Rep. Chris Smith’s journey as a campaigner for human rights and religious liberty began decades ago in a small New Jersey eatery over a meal with a Holocaust survivor. Mr. Smith’s father ran a wholesale sporting goods business next to a Jewish delicatessen in the small town of Colonia, New Jersey. One day his father took him to lunch with a man who “used to come into a Jewish delicatessen near our store, and he was a Holocau... Read more

By Amanda Oglesby Asbury Park Press | USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY An offshore wind developer that is backing out of deals to build wind farms off New Jersey is under new criticism as the company attempts to pull out of paying millions of dollars in performance guarantees. Denmark-based Ørsted announced last month it would not build two wind energy farms off the southern New Jersey coastline, despite initial approvals from New Jersey and federal officials. This month, the company sent a letter... Read more

By Bob Vosseller Staff writer Orsted’s cancellation of two ocean wind projects off the coast was welcome news to environmental groups and certain public officials but Governor Phil Murphy was outraged by the announcement. Orsted, a Danish company, explained the cancelation of their Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects stating, “anticipated impairments on its US portfolio of up to DKK 16 billion” or approximately $2.266 billion and said that “the US offshore wind projects have experienced further negative... Read more

By Bob Vosseller STAFF WRITER - Close to 400 people including numerous county officials came out for a vigil in support of the victims impacted by the recent attack by the terrorist group Hamas. The vigil was held at Beth Am Shalom in Lakewood and it was sponsored by Beth Am Shalom, Chabad of Toms River, Congregation Ahavat Olam in Howell, Congregation B’nai Israel in Toms River, the JCC of Long Beach Island, the Jewish Federation of Ocean County, and Temple Beth Or in Brick. Speakers included ... Read more

Karen Wall,Patch Staff A Lakewood organization that works to help people who are struggling with addiction and mental illness is set to receive a $1 million grant from the federal government. The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service Grant was awarded to the Lakewood Community Service Corporation by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. It will fund addiction and mental health services for the next four years, beginning Sept. 30, 2023. "https://patch.com/new-jersey/lakewood-n... Read more

It’s official: as of Aug. 25, U.S. Coast Guard – Station Squan building is owned by the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach. Following years of uncertainty surrounding the destiny of the decommissioned Coast Guard site, Point Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra, along with U.S. Representative Chris Smith, announced that the deed and keys were at last transferred from the Coast Guard to the borough. Mayor Kanitra said that forging a deal with the Coast Guard was one of the first key moments of the transaction’s... Read more

The infant sperm whale lay on its side in the cold sand, sleek and shining in the December sun. Adult sperm whales can grow up to 67 feet and weigh as much as 45 tons. This one was tiny by comparison—weighing about a ton and, at 12 feet long, measuring roughly the size of a kayak. Authorities from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) in Brigantine noted that it was still nursing before it died and speculated that it might have gotten separated from its mother and starved to death. What mad... Read more

A groundbreaking ceremony was held July 21 to celebrate the start of renovations being made to the Ocean County Safe House operated by Providence House of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton. Providence House provides services to victims of domestic violence and their children. Funds for the renovations, which amounted to $750,000 were secured by New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith. Along with the Congressman, those in attendance included diocesan and Catholic Charities staff as well as local ... Read more