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SUPREME COURT MAY BE RECEPTIVE TO TRAVEL BAN PAGE 1B

SATURDAY 06.03.17
Artificial reef could help purify
the Navesink River

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Ocean Temp Todays High/Low Todays UV

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PHOTOS BY TANYA BREEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
American Littoral Society members load bags of oyster shells to be hung from docks in the river as they launch Operation
Oyster, an effort to improve water quality in in the Navesink River, at the Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank on Friday.
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE DOWN THE SHORE

SEARCHING FOR Catch a

concert
HIDDEN OYSTERS RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER
Crowder will
perform at Six Flags
Great Adventure in
Jackson at 6 p.m.
today (doors at 5
RED BANK - Just 25 years ago, oysters were in p.m.). Concert is free
abundance under Coopers Bridge between Red with park admission.
Bank and Middletown, but disease essentially wiped
them out of the Navesink River.
Now, researchers with the American Littoral So-
ciety have begun a program to determine what oys-
ters might be lurking in the river today.
Their hope is to establish an artificial reef where
these mollusks can flourish and help purify the pol-
luted waters.
The Navesink is beloved locally as a source of rec-
reation and picturesque charm, but that reputation
is threatened by water quality that has degraded in
recent years.
This is a basic scientific investigation, said Tim
Dillingham, executive director of the American Lit-
toral Society, during a news conference on the docks
behind the Oyster Point Inn. We want to understand
where oysters sill occur in the river, what their dis- Celebrate summer Take a walk
tribution is, where they might be concentrated.
To do this, the society is hanging bags of discard- Point Pleasants 27th The Keyport Garden
ed oyster shells gathered from local seafood res- Annual Summerfest in the Walk takes places today
taurants from private docks east of the Route 35 Park begins at 11 a.m. today and Sunday from 11 a.m.
at Community Park (Beaver to 3 p.m. It is a free,
See OYSTERS, Page 5A Dam Road and Bridge self-guided tour of 30
Avenue). Featuring live music, public and private
MORE ONLINE childrens rides and food gardens in Keyport.
trucks, the event runs to 7 GardenTalks begin at 9:30
Zack Royle of Toms River, habitat restoration coordinator, To watch a video and see photos of the effort, visit
p.m. Admission is free. a.m. at borough hall.
hangs a bag of oyster shells from a private dock. APP.com and search oysters.

Find a new favorite

Two more Candidates for Where do you go at the Shore for
a great brunch or late-night bite?

execs from governor tackle We bring you a taste of great

new restaurants and some classic
spots youll want to revisit. Visit
school funding APP.com/summerguide or

Birdsall jailed NICHOLAS PUGLIESE @NICKPUGZ

download the NJ TODAY
app in the Google Play or
Apple app stores.

KATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP
TOMS RIVER - Two more former executives
with the defunct Birdsall Services Group were sen-
tenced to jail terms Friday for their roles in the
pay-to-play scandal that toppled the Eatontown-
based engineering giant.
Superior Court Judge James Den Uyl imposed
jail terms of 270 days on both Robert Gerard, 56, of
Wall, former chief marketing officer for Birdsall
Services Group, and James Johnston, 55, of North
Brunswick, former president of the firms environ- even Atlantic Citys casinos.
mental services group.
They are the fifth and sixth former Birdsall ex-
ecutives to be sentenced in a scheme to bypass the
states pay-to-pay laws by disguising corporate po-
litical contributions in an effort to secure public
contracts the engineering firm otherwise would be
ineligible.
The scheme puts a democratic societys inter-
est in free and fair elections at risk and impacts the
integrity of the process, Den Uyl said in sentenc-
ing both men, rejecting arguments from their at-
torneys that their crimes werent serious enough to
send them to jail.
In addition to imposing jail terms, Den Uyl
placed both men on probation for two years and
barred them from doing business with any public
These days almost everyone agrees that the way
New Jersey doles out aid to its public schools is unfair. All this and more inside! 2A
There is less agreement on what that means or how to
fix it.
Tensions in Trenton are running so high that Demo-
cratic leaders in the Senate recently threatened to WIN a VIP meet & greet
shut down state government unless Gov. Chris Chris-
tie and other lawmakers yielded to their ideas for re- with ESPNs Dick Vitale!
forming the states school aid formula. The last time
the government shut down, in 2006, it temporarily Just for Insiders! Were
closed courts, Motor Vehicle Commission offices and giving away a dozen
pairs of VIP tickets to
the Asbury Park Press
See FUNDING, Page 8A Sports Awards. The
package includes a VIP
meet & greet with guest
speaker ESPN's iconic
Dick Vitale! Youll also have the opportunity to have your
photo taken with Dick Vitale! Enter to win today at
app.com/insider. If youre a subscriber, youre an Insider.

See BIRDSALL, Page 4A

MORE ONLINE ASSOCIATED PRESS

To watch a video of the sentencing, visit APP.com and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, beside Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli,
search Birdsall. speaks during a Republican gubernatorial primary debate.

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VOLUME 138

NUMBER 132

SINCE 1879
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