ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

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NEW FAVORITES

WEDNESDAY 12.30.15

What restaurants did you

miss this year? Table, 1D

The oceans currents carry pollutants called microplastics,

like a smog, which is threatening marine life and our food supply.

WHATS IN
OUR FISH?

PRESS INVESTIGATION

Belmar wants
out of troubled
tax program
KEN SERRANO @KENSERRANOAPP

Belmar, joining an ever-growing list of towns, has

decided to opt out of Monmouth Countys troubled property tax pilot program, which has drawn the attention
of law enforcement authorities and complaints from
homeowners faced with heftier tax bills.
The Belmar Borough Council voted 4-0, with one
council member absent, in favor of a resolution to pull
out of the program.
Its a flawed program, Belmar Mayor Matt
Doherty said Tuesday. Its got too many issues.
The Assessment Demonstration Program requires
municipalities to perform a town-wide reassessment
each year and to inspect 20 percent of all properties annually for the five-year program period.
The county Board of Taxation allowed towns to opt
out of the program on Nov. 30. But the opt-out would not
affect the new assessments property owners received
this year, including tens of thousands who saw doubledigit percentage increases in their local property taxes.
Each of the countys 53 towns has until April 29 to
See BELMAR, Page 5A

INSIDE
Belmar will build pavilions on its own. STORY, 3A

RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

ear the surface of the waters off the Jersey Shore is a drifting veil of smog, of
the sort that threatens the health of oceans the world over. Scientists say the
debris arises from plastics, including items commonly stored in the typical

home bathroom or kitchen cabinet. Chances are, according to these observers, the dangerous toxins in the materials could eventually make their way to your dinner table. You
know the next stop after that. Forget those images of island-like garbage patches congealing on the waters surface, the earths oceans are under attack from man-made debris
practically impossible to see with the naked eye. Currents carry these pollutants, like a
slow-moving cloud stretching across the sky. Millions of pounds of these microscopic
plastic fragments are floating off New Jerseys shore, absorbing toxins and infiltrating
the food chain, according to government researchers.

See POLLUTE, Page 4A

An estimated 2.2
million pounds of
microplastics, including microbeads,
are floating on the
surface of the North
Atlantic. Thats the
equivalent of 79
million water bottles
lingering atop international waters
between the East
Coast and Europe and
northern Africa.

Microbeads are tiny

particles of plastic
less than 1mm in size
that can be spherical
or irregular in shape
and produced in a
multitude of colors.

Under New Jersey

law, production of
substances containing
microbeads would be
outlawed by January
2018 and the sale of
those products would
be prohibited by
January 2020.
ROBERT COHN/ASBURY PARK DESIGN
STUDIO ILLUSTRATIONAND GRAPHIC

Airstrike killed senior Islamic

State fighter linked to Paris
attacks, Pentagon says. 1B

ADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL
OBITUARIES

5D
1E
4D
3A
10A

OPINION
SPORTS
TABLE
WEATHER
YOUR MONEY

13A
1C
1D
8C
6A

VOLUME 136
NUMBER 312
SINCE 1879

AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK

Gov. Chris Christie jokes with visitors to Elly's Tea and Coffee
House in Muscatine, Iowa, Tuesday.

Oft missing from

N.J., Christie calls
out absenteeism
BOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

Gov. Chris Christie made clear Tuesday he doesnt

think much of elected officials who dont do their jobs
because they spend so much of their time running for
president. And, no, it wasnt a moment of self-reflection.
At a town hall event in Iowa, Christie said rival U.S.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was wrong to miss a recent
vote on the federal spending bill Rubio said he opposed.
Well, dude, show up to work and vote no, right?
Christie said. Just show up to work and vote no, and if
you dont want to, then quit.
Im not saying he has to be there every day. I know
hes running for president. Thats fine. Just tell us that,
Im running for president so Im not going. But be honest about it.
See CHRISTIE, Page 5A