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MONDAY 11.16.15

Not this
time
Giants lose game to Pats
at last second. Sports, 1D

Howell Mayor William J. Gotto

DRUG ISSUES TAKING FOREFRONT

Howell
mayor
scolds
residents

Marijuanas in
bloom in N.J.

Gotto disgusted by
anti-Semitic comments
KALA KACHMAR
@NEWSQUIP

HOWELL - Mayor William Gotto has publicly expressed his disgust for the anti-Semitic and classist
comments that have been made on some of Howells
Facebook pages over the past month.
An open letter to the community from Gotto and the
Township Council posted on Howells website on Tuesday morning as a follow-up to remarks he made at
last Mondays Township Council meeting expressed
concerns about social media perpetuating misinformation and half-truths about the issues and projects
going on in town.
Town officials trying to give correct information, in
many cases, have been blocked from posting on those
pages, Gotto said.
Social media activity on two Facebook groups, Howell Happenings NJ and West Farms R9 Housing Project, has intensified since a controversial affordable
housing project became a hot issue in town. Citizens
have been using Facebook to share information, voice
opposition and mobilize to try to stop the development.

BOB BIELK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

In mid-October, the Breakwater alternative treatment center opened in Cranbury. It is the fifth facility licensed to offer medical
marijuana in New Jersey.

who are doing it anymore. Its a

States 5th medical pot

dispensary open after
a difficult process

Christie may face new

fight over legalizing
drug recreationally

growing number of people.

MICHAEL L. DIAMOND@MDIAMONDAPP

BOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

MAYOR WILLIAM J. GOTTO

CRANBURY - Want to open a medical marijuana dispensary?

Youll need to raise millions of dollars and disclose where the money came from. Youll need to
come clean on your criminal history. Youll need
to let regulators know if you filed for bankruptcy
or testified in court or were ever asked to take a
polygraph test. And youll need patience. Lots of
patience.
Its a difficult process, said Andrew Zaleski,
operations manager and trustee for Breakwater
Treatment & Wellness in Cranbury.
Breakwater opened last month, becoming the
fifth medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey, and one of the closest to residents in Monmouth and Ocean counties. It sells four strains

TRENTON - New Jersey will take a step toward becoming potentially the fifth state to enact a law legalizing marijuana for recreational
use when lawmakers hold a public hearing on the
arguments for and against it next week. But Republican Gov. Chris Christie has already vowed
to crush efforts to make pot legal here.
Democrats in the state Senate want to consider expanding legal use of marijuana. The states
Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act has
been on the books since 2010, but Senate Judiciary Chairman Nicholas Scutari said Monday a
hearing would be a a first step in the process of
finally reversing our punitive marijuana laws.
Scutari, a Democrat from Union County, is
the sponsor of legislation (S-1896) to legalize,

See POT, Page 12A

See CHRISTIE, Page 12A

See GOTTO, Page 12A

Its not just a small group of people

Freeholders tell
Vicari: You are on
your own in suit
ERIK LARSEN
@ERIK_LARSEN

Ocean County Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari will get

no help from taxpayers to cover the cost of his legal defense in civil litigation between him and his former
Democratic rival, according to Freeholder Director
John C. Bartlett Jr.
That decision was made last week after Ocean County Administrator Carl W. Block received an opinion
from the county governments labor counsel, tasked
with determining whether Vicari is entitled to public indemnification. Vicari had asked his four Republican
colleagues on the Board of Freeholders to protect him
from his own defamation lawsuit against Timothy E.
See VICARI, Page 7A

France hits back

vs. Islamic State
The French launch massive retaliatory airstrikes against terror
targets in Syria, as a manhunt intensifies for at least one fugitive linked to the militant group who vanished after the mayhem in Paris that left 132 people dead and hundreds injured.
Page 1B

BOB BIELK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Harold Cardini (seated) of Manchester talks with counselors in the Breakwater Treatment & Wellness dispensary.

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1D
10D

VOLUME 136
NUMBER 274
SINCE 1879