Paul Goldfinger photo. Stokes looks straight ahead towards the ocean and sees fog.
a. What’s New? CDC–go to CDC.gov for more information:
- For the first time ever, vaccines are available to help protect against severe illness caused by all three of the major fall and winter respiratory viruses – flu, COVID-19, and RSV.
- You may get flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines at the same visit, making it easier to stay up to date with CDC recommendations.
- If you choose to get your vaccines at different visits, there is no minimum waiting period between vaccines.
b. I’ve discovered that some barber shops around here are blossoming with self importance, arrogance, and cutesy names. They call their barbers “artists.”
I looked at “Talking Heads” in Asbury. Their technology requires that you navigate a system that works like a doctor’s office. You can do all sorts of things such as make appointments, choose a barber and pay with credit.
They also threaten you should you miss an appointment. Like a doctor’s office they badger you with text reminders for appointments, but I found out that you can’t cancel by replying to a text message. I tried that–three times, and I even got a thumbs up in reply, but you can’t talk to anyone. A robot answers their phone, so I couldn’t speak to anyone.
So I thought I had cancelled, and they charged my card $30.00. I called to explain, but no barber would talk to me. Their secretary finally took the call and told me that I shouldn’t have responded to their texts because they don’t read text replies!!
Evidently that is legal. I won’t go back there. That sort of high- tech system is fine if you are comfortable with it , but not everyone is so adept with computers. I can handle Blogfinger and my doctor’s system, but not the local barber.
The “Handsome Devils” in Belmar are very similar. I plan to find out if I can cancel by phone before I make an appointment.
Both places have a menu for choosing extras like trimming a beard. So getting a haircut has now become high end, so do your homework before getting a haircut.
Here is Blogfinger’s idea of a barber shop:
c. RSIS update: I found this on NextDoor from Tom Coan an activist from Bradley Beach.
This sounds bad for Ocean Grove. Now Neptune just ignores the protection of RSIS.
“On Thursday, the Assembly State and Local Government Committee favorably reported A-4984/S-3605, which would reduce the number of parking spaces required under the statewide site improvement standards at residential developments by 20%, 30%, and 50%, relative to the development’s proximity to public transportation.
Under current law, a developer can obtain relief from the standards from a reviewing board on a case-by-case basis, but such relief is subject to the scrutiny of local officials. When done at a local level, this allows for individual projects to be reviewed and relief to be granted when appropriate. This type of review ensures that the total amount of parking is appropriate for the development within the community.
“A wholesale reduction without appropriate review for each project risks creating insufficient parking to service the area’s residents and businesses.
“In other areas of the country where similar policy changes have occurred, they have been done in conjunction with efforts to increase public transportation usage or make roads more accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians. A-4984/S-3605 does not include such efforts.
“For these reasons, the League opposes the legislation.
“The Senate has already voted to approve S-3605 and the Assembly is now set to vote on the bill. We encourage our members to reach out to their legislative representatives and share their concerns with these bills.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x137.”
d. Neptune Township is making available a number of key North End documents: email today 12/5/23:
In response to the request for documents related to the Ocean Grove North End Development Project, please see below link to access the following:
- Changes made to plan for settlement
- Comparison document for Redevelopment Plan
- Comparison document for Redevelopment agreement
- 11-13-2023 Letter from Historic Preservation Committee related to Ocean Grove North End Development
- Memo to Township Committee summarizing Settlement agreement and Restated Redevelopment Agreement for Ocean Grove North End Development.
- Response list to HPC resolution
Ocean Grove North End Development- Documents
Hopefully the OGHOA’s legal committee will read every one of these and then report back to the citizens of Ocean Grove.
e. Flooding risk for Wesley Lake and Fletcher Lake has attracted attention since sever Sept. rains. No solution in sight. APP reported on it:
ASBURY PARK – Three lakes — Wesley, Deal and Fletcher — have become so prone to severe flooding that both Neptune and Asbury Park are working on solutions in the short-term and for the future.
e.. 
HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS: