Governor Christie On Federal Funding For Disaster Relief

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The Increase The Lt. Governor’s Public Profile Campaign Resumes

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno will be on the radio with NJ 101.5’s Jim Gearhart tomorrow morning at 7:35 AM and again with John Gambling on 710 AM at 8:05 AM.

Last Monday MMM noted that the front office was working to increase Guadagno’s profile.  I don’t know what it means.  I think it means that Governor Chris Christie is getting ready to run for President, despite his most recent denials.  I think he feels it.

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31,145 Monmouth JCP&L Customer Still Without Power

Governor Chris Christie and Board of Public Utilities President Lee Solomon have said their goal is to have all power restored in New Jersey by Friday.   The only place in New Jersey without power now should be the places where rivers are flooding.

In Monmouth County there are still 31,145 JCPL customers, which is over 100,000 people, now three days after Irene left us.   This is unacceptable.

The Spring Lakes have more customers reported out of power now than they did yesterday.  Major fail.

5800 customers in Marlboro and Matawan, many of whom have been told by JCPL, “whoops” when informed that the power restoration messages were inaccurate, “you’re back on the bottom of the list, see ya in another 5 days.”  No way.  Get that frickin power on now.

5000 in the Bayshore, including all parts of Middletown, Holmdel, Union Beach, Keansburg and Keyport. Get that frickin power on now!

Atlantic Highlands still has 2400 customers, without power.  Why?  Don’t tell me how hard it is to get the power on in Thousand Oaks.  Get it on.

Belmar still has 540 customers without power.  Those renters from Staten Island are watching.

Asbury Park has 305 customers out.  I can’t wait to read Dan Jacobson’s cogent argument on why that is the Asbury Park Press’s fault.   That is if Dan can get his paper delivered tomorrow.  Bring it to Highlands Dan, we’re open!

My business is one of the 637 customers in Belford still without power.  Some in Belford who had power restored yesterday lost it again today.  If power if off at my business tomorrow, I’ll have plenty of time to travel around the county taking pictures.  If there are more than 4000 people in Monmouth County without power tomorrow, I’ll spend the day touring the county anyway.  Just sayin’ JCP&L.

Bring more people in from Ohio.  Call qualified retirees into service.  Do what you have to do to serve your customers.  We demand no less.   Lives and livelihoods are at stake.

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Power Is On In Highlands

McDonalds can have their table back now.

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Tempatures Are Rising

The heat and humidity is coming back and asthmatics are beginning to suffer. So reports an MMM reader from Highlands who just called saying she was having a hard time breathing.

GET THE FRICKIN POWER ON!

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore just called.  JCP&L’s Roberta Sheridan called back and gave him an electric delivery 101 lesson.  “All Available Men” are not at the substations because the substations are working.  The problem is with circuits throughout the neighborhoods that must be repaired.  That is where “all available men are” per Sheridan through Fiore. 

All available men must be working out of Comcast, Verizon or Sewer trucks because there is not a JCP&L truck in the area that I have seen.  If you see one, please post the location in the comments and I’ll run right over to take pictures.

Sheridan guaranteed Fiore that all of Middletown Township would have power by Friday.

That’s still too long as far as I am concerned.

Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre says he just heard the Governor’s office.  Christie is ramping up the pressure on JCP&L.  Christie’s representative told Halfacre that Monmouth County has more residents without power than all of the rest of the state.

Note to municipal elected officials.  Fiore and Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre have demonstrated that the squeaking wheel gets the oil.  Don’t be satisfied with the bullshit JCPL is feeding you.  If you’re not satisfied with the answers your OEM team are getting through the established protocalls, call your legislators and the Governor’s office. Hold them to account.  Feel free to use MMM the way Fiore, Halfacre and Toni Angelini have been.  The public presssure is working.

Estimated Customers Out For
MONMOUTH County
As of Aug 31, 2011 2:46 PM

Total Out = 48627

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Middletown Mayor Anthony P. Fiore Statement on Power Outages

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At 12:48 PM: No Action At Belford Substation

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore reports that he has a call into JCP&L’s Roberta Sheridan.  Fiore also said that Middletown GOP Chairman Peter Carton told him via email that “all available men” went to the Stone Church substation this morning and Navesink now has power. 

Is JCP&L’s electronic message telling you your power has been turned on and it hasn’t?

Call 888-544-4877.   Matawan Councilwoman Toni Marie Angelini (who is still single, available, real and spectacular) reports that a real live available person answers that line.

Not that Angelini got much satisfaction from calling.  In her Matawan neighborhood a crew “finished” repairs and an announcement went out that the power was back on.  Problem was, half the neighborhood still didn’t have power.  When one of the neighbors called a JCPL rep told the person “we didn’t know you didn’t have power.”   The person was told the neighborhood went back on the list….the bottom of the list with a 5 day wait.

Maybe JCPL days are like dog years.

The tanker trucks are still heading up Route 36 from the Bayshore sewage plants without power.  May I suggest the truckers deliver to a large fan outside a JCP&L office.

In Highlands, Councilwoman Becky Kane reports that the State of Emergency is still in effect and that there is a curfew from dusk till dawn.

In an email to a Highlands Google group this afternoon, Kane said that JCPL told Highlands OEM that power would likely be out for several days.    At 1:47, a Highlands resident reported to the same group that has just been restored at Shore Dr. and Miller Street.

There is hope for power, but evidently not for a straight story from JCPL

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“All Available Men” Have Not Shown Up

It’s been three hours since JCP&L’s Roberta Sheridan told Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore that “all available men” would be dispatched to the Monmouth County Bayshore for repairs to the Belford substation and the Stone Church substation.

There are no men at Belford.  There is not a JCP&L truck in sight.  There’s Comcast and Verizon trucks, but no JCP&L.  There are tanker trucks moving up and down Route 36 filled with sewage.  Apparently the trucks are not the only thing full of shit around here.

JCP&L's Belford Substation at 10:10 AM, August 31, 2011

An angry and frustrated Fiore told MMM that the Governor’s office called him this morning to check on if he had heard from JCP&L. 

Maybe the circuts that have to be repaired are off sight.  Or maybe JCP&L is placating the Governor’s office while bullshitting  municipal elected officials.

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Progress, Finally, Hopefully

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore called at 7:22 AM to report that JCP&L Government Affairs Representative Roberta Sheridan had just called.

JCP&L is moving “all available men,” into the Bayshore of Monmouth County.  That’s about 300 workers, per Fiore. Work will finally get started on the Belford substation which powers most of the Bayshore.

Multiple sources have told MMM that the Belford station was a problem.  JCPL (not Sheridan) has been saying that the substation was underwater (it wasn’t) that its old (it is) and that they didn’t know when they would get to it.

Yesterday afternoon they hadn’t gotten to it. It wasn’t wet, but it was rusty….on the top, not the bottom.  It’s elevated and the ground was dry all around it.  This was not one of the underwater substations.

In an ironic and infuriating twist, while I was inspecting the Belford substation yesterday, Comcast workers, who now use the former JCP&L building adjacent to the substation were taking delivery of small generators.  Well one or two of them were taking delivery while 9 or 10 watched.

The Stone Church substation off Sears Ave in Atlantic Highlands is the other problem for Northeast Monmouth residents and businesses.  The misinformation being spread to  area elected officials by JCPL about this substation is disgusting.  One story was that trees fell on it and destroyed it.  Another story was trees fell on it and it “burnt up.” ” Burnt up” could mean a fire or it could mean a blown transformer.  Neither was the case.  No members of the Highlands, Atlantic Highlands or Navesink Fire Companies knew of any calls to the substation in the last week.  MMM went to the substation.  No signs of a recent fire or the lingering smell of a blown transformer. The substation was not underwater.  There were sounds of electricity though!

Stone Church Substation, August 30, 2011

Fiore said that Sheridan told him that the real problem with the Stone Church substation is topography with the lines going to and from the station.  Trees on the lines and downed lines will cause further delays to electric customers being serviced by this station.

Fiore has been a bulldog of an advocate for Middletown residents and the entire Bayshore during the aftermath of Irene.   During the Real Jersey Guys Radio Show yesterday afternoon, Fiore couldn’t get through on the call in lines so he sent a text informing us that he had gotten through to the Governor’s office about the Bayshore situation and asked that the Belford and Stone Church substations be made a priority.  The head office said they would do so.   Within an hour lights started coming on in Belford and Atlantic Highlands.  Then Sheridan called first thing this morning.

Here’s a recording of the radio show, in case you didn’t have power and are listening to it next week sometime. 

The show featured Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre and stories of his multi-year battle with JCP&L and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande reporting on the great works of Monmouth volunteers, law enforcement and genuinely finding the silver lining in the mutliple Irene clouds.

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Third World Monmouth County

The sun is rising, the birds are chirping, and the sounds of generators fills the air as we start our fourth day without power in third world Monmouth County where 52,146 JCP&L customers still do not have power.  That’s electrical customer, not people.  Between residences and businesses that easily 400,000 people wearing dirty underwear and running out of the five day supplies that Governor Christie said to gather to prepare for the storm.

There is a shortage of water and ice.  Little to none is being trucked in, but sewage is being trucked out.

The American Red Cross served 500 meals at Middletown North High School last night.  Middletown.  One of Money Magazine’s best places to live in America.  Money should survey the the age and locations of the electrical grids of the communities it surveys in future years.

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