Westbound Lanes of Route 88 Bridge Closed Part of Tues. and Wed.

Traffic is shifted into eastbound lanes

Both westbound lanes of the Route 88 bridge in Point Borough are closed today until 3 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the state Department of Transportation (DOT). The traffic will be shifted into the eastbound lanes allowing one lane of traffic in each direction. This work will be coordinated with the ongoing work at this structure by the Army Corps of Engineers, says the DOT. Editor's Note: Patch was not informed of this until this morning and is posting this story shortly after getting the information. Information will be updated if any further information is announced.

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Hurricane Sandy

OCVTS Closed This Week

No spring break in 2013

Like many other area schools, the Ocean County Vocational Technical School district will be closed until Nov. 12. The district includes the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences (MATES), in Manahawkin, the Performing Arts Academy (PAA), in Lakehurst, and many other instructional programs offered at multiple sites throughout the county. A recorded phone call made to parents of students at the academies said the closure is due to the many sending districts that are closed this coming week due to damage from Sandy. The message also said that the time off will be made up during the spring break in April, so students will not have off at that time.

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With Bayville Location Closing, How Will Toms River Foodtown Fare?

Last month for Bayville Food Circus Foodtown

It's the last month of business for Bayville Foodtown, as owners Food Circus Super Markets announced the location on Route 9 will close Feb. 25 after 20 years. The impact to the Toms River Foodtown, officials said, should be minimal. Lou Scaduto Jr., president of Food Circus, said the decision to shutter the store was simply an economic one, reflecting ongoing struggles of that store. The fate of the 75 employees of the Bayville location was still being decided. When asked how many would be transfered to Toms River, the next closest Food Circus location, Scaduto said staffing levels there would not swell to absorb the Bayville employees. "Obviously there will be layoffs," Scaduto said. "That location will close and staffers will be let go…

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About Town

Library Closed June 3 for Staff Training

All branches to reopen Saturday

The Ocean County Library System will be closed Friday, June 3 for staff training. The closure includes all branches of the library system. No events are being held at the library, either. However, patrons can access the Ocean County Library website, and the resources available online are available all the time. That includes access to your patron account and the card catalog system. Facilities will reopen Saturday, normal operating hours.

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In Sea Bass Legal Fight, Champ Left Before the First Round

Lawsuit over 2009 sea bass shutdown tossed out of federal court

This week, we judge a judge’s decision. First, a hypothetical situation: Let’s say I was able to hack into your bank account, steal some money, but then give you back all the passwords I stole and fade away into the sunset. You probably would still want me to serve some time in the Big House, and have some type of measure put into place to make sure I couldn’t weasel my way in to your account again, right? That’s the exact same thing anglers argued in court after the federal government closed the recreational sea bass fishery under controversial circumstances. On Oct. 5, 2009, the sea bass fishery was closed for seven months after federal regulators went against an overwhelming vote by state representatives and closed access in federal …

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Local Focus

How to save a bay that keeps few secrets

From Brick to Lacey, a short history of the state's most prized estuary - and how it can be saved

What a week! First the Big Oyster announces it will close the nation's oldest nuclear plant in Forked River 10 years before its extended license expires. Then the governor unveils his $110 million Barnegat Bay bailout. It's hard not to be optimistic with so much good news coming our way. The impact could be as important to the northern part of the bay as it is to the region around Oyster Creek. That's because more than 60 percent of the nitrogen pollution flowing into the bay comes from the Metedeconk and Toms River watersheds. Those watersheds stretch far into the western fringes of Ocean County. Tough new limits on how much nitrogen fertilizers used in the 660-square-mile Barnegat Bay watershed will help reverse that increasing flood of …

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