Hurricane Sandy

LBI OPENED: Photo Gallery: Ship Bottom to South Beach Haven

Clean-up and restoration with a dose of humor all go hand in hand as Long Beach Island recovers from Sandy.

  Long Beach Island residents - except those from Holgate - returned to their homes Saturday morning, beginning at 6 a.m. During a Friday afternoon news conference in Seaside Heights on Friday, Governor Christie announced that the Route 72 causeway bridge will be open. Christie said the state will allow residents controlled access to assess damage, retrieve belongings and permit repopulation of the island for residents whose homes are safe and habitable. Here is a short photo tour before Saturday's reopening.  People should procede with caution as there is still a lot of work going on and dangerous conditions in many areas.

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Hurricane Sandy

PHOTOS: Long Beach Island Making Strides, Will Remain Closed for Forseeable Future

Power is on in Surf City and Ship Bottom, but new weather problems may be on the horizon and gas is weeks away.

Seeing a police officer armed with an automatic rifle at the end of the Causeway in Ship Bottom was a worse sight than any nightmare I have ever had. He and a pair of National Guardsmen were checking IDs and verifying access at the Gateway to Long Beach Island for contractors, utility workers, media and some select home and business owners to protect against looters and ensure the saftey on those coming on to the Island. Businesses that had perishable items were being allowed by Beach Haven to get them and leave. Residents in Surf City whose homes had been “red flagged," essentially declared uninhabitable, were allowed to go in briefly to collect personal items. Those helping to rebuild the island were also arrriving in convoys of dump …

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UPDATE: Woman Saved From Near Drowning On Ship Bottom Beach By Couple, Morristown Teen

Woman was unconscious and not breathing when she was pulled from the surf off 27th Street beach, police say

Three people were in the right place at the right time early this evening when they saved a woman off the 27th Street beach in Ship Bottom, police said. The woman - whose name has not yet been released - was struggling in the rough surf on the unguarded beach around 6:45 p.m., said Sgt. James Butler. "She was floundering in the very rough surf and tumbling in the water," he said. Fortunately, the woman was spotted by Michael Ems, East Hampton, and Catherine Ghee, Connecticut. When the two pulled the woman from the surf, she was not breathing, Butler said. Sixteen-year-old Grace Campbell - a Morristown teenager who lifeguards at Culver Lake in Sussex County - was playing beach volleyball nearby when two of her friends started screaming. "I …

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On A Quiet Street, In A Quiet Town, A Murder Stuns

Murder charge only the second locals can remember

  In the towns that still use emergency sirens, the sound of the siren is usually associated with a fire or an accident. That's true in Ship Bottom, the small town on Long Beach Island, where sirens are uncommon, especially in the winter months. "There's nothing that goes on here," said Greg Cudnik of Fisherman's Headquarters, located on Route 72 as you first drive onto Long Beach Island. "Obviously, there's stuff that goes on, but nothing like this." The "this" he referred to was the death of James Hunsinger, allegedly run down by his neighbor, Terrence O'Brien, on Wednesday night. O'Brien, 63, has been charged with murder in the death of Hunsinger, 73, who was found in the driveway of the two-story multifamily home on West 7th Street in …

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Ship Bottom Man Dies After Being Struck By Car, Neighbor Charged With Murder

Terrence O'Brien's bail set at $750,000, with no ten percent option

A Ship Bottom man suffered serious injuries and died Wednesday night after being struck by his neighbor's car, Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said. When Ship Bottom Police arrived at West 7th Street at 7:19 p.m. Wednesday, they found James Hunsinger, 73, lying in a driveway with "very serious injuries," Ford said in a press release. Hunsinger, of 244 West 7th Street, was taken to the Atlantic City Medical Center, where he died at 10:55 p.m. The man who allegedly struck Hunsinger, Terrence O’Brien, 63, also of 244 West 7th Street, was charged with murder. "It is alleged that Mr. O’Brien intentionally struck Mr. Hunsinger with a motor vehicle, which resulted in Mr. Hunsinger’s death," Ford said. "It appears that they lived at the…

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State Police Identify Body Found Floating off Ship Bottom as Mt. Laurel Man

Body found near personal watercraft east of Long Beach Island Causeway bridge

The man whose body was found floating near the former Intracoastal Waterway channel that hugs Ship Bottom was identified as a 61-year-old Burlington County man, police said. State Police Sgt. Julian Castellanos identified the man as John Mee of Mount Laurel. A passing boater discovered his body floating upside down at about 8:20 p.m. Friday, police said. He was found near an abandoned personal watercraft that was floating near the easternmost bridge of the LBI Causeway in the former intracoastal waterway channel which runs along the middle portion of Long Beach Island's bay side. Authorities were at the Ship Bottom municipal boat ramp Friday night after recovering the body. Ship Bottom police blocked off the entrance to the boat ramp area…

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