The HOWELL Times
Vol. 23 - No. 12
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Local Families Have A National Night Out
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Government Page 4
Community News Pages 6-7
Inside The Law Page 11
Classifieds Page 13
Families came out to Soldier Memorial Park for the National Night Out. By Andrew Rice HOWELL - The Howell Township Police Athletic League hosted its annual National Night Out event at Soldier Memorial Park off of Maxim Southard Road. Accordi ng to the PAL’s website, “National Night Out is an annual event that promotes community safe-
ty and strengthens the relationship between local law enforcement and the neighborhoods they serve. The event aims to raise awareness about crime prevention, encourage community involvement, and foster positive connections between citizens and law enforcement.” Another reason for the
event’s existence is to build relationships between emergency services providers and the people that they serve. The event included vendors, stands, and multiple displays, with many of them coming from the various emergency ser vices that work in Howell. A lot of stands represent-
Photo by Andrew Rice ed certain causes as well, using the event to spread awareness. One such booth was t he 1-80 0 - Ga mbler booth. This stand was at the event to spread awareness of the dangers of gambling and how it can ruin lives. They attended the National Night Out with (NNO - See Page 2)
Electricity Demands - And Costs - Focus Of Hearing
By Chris Lundy OCEAN COUNTY - The cost of electricity is increasing quickly, as is our need for it. Far from a simple case of supply and demand, there are more complicated issues at work, which were discussed recently at a hearing of New Jersey lawmakers. The meeting was made up of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, and the Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee. Originally scheduled for Toms River Town Hall, it was changed last minute
to Point Pleasant for unknown reasons. There, lawmakers listened to experts about what the future of energy is going to look like, and what we can do about it. Senator Bob Smith chaired the meeting, which had a number of speakers. He urged each speaker to be brief since they had a lot to get through. This article is focused on the beginning of the meeting. The first speaker was Christine Guhl-Sudovy, president of the Board of Public Utilities which oversees electricity, natural gas, and other energy sources. The state is part of the PJM grid, she
explained. It provides power to 13 states and the District of Columbia. The energy cost has increased by 40 percent, and officials are looking at ways to control this cost. Guhl-Sudovy said that of the 32 gigawatts of electricity needed in coming years, 30 of it is needed by data centers. Even if they are not in New Jersey, they are on the PJM grid, and therefore, New Jerseyans will be impacted by it. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers consume 10 to 50 (Electricity - See Page 3)
August 30, 2025
New Ordinance Impacts Sober Living Homes By Andrew Rice HOWELL - Several residents spoke at Township Council meetings in June and July with concerns they had over sober living homes that are operating in and around the Rueben Court area. The council adopted an ordinance during its recent August meeting regarding these sober living homes. One thing that the updated ordinance does is attempt to define what a sober living home is. According to the new ordinance, a sober living home is a recovery home that is a rooming or boarding house that has been issued a “F” License by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:271.1 et seq. It does not operate as a single housekeeping unit. The New Jersey Administrative Code defines these cooperative sober living residences (CSLR) as “a residential setting that serves solely as a home for individuals who are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction and is intended to provide an environment where the residents can support each other’s sobriety and recovery.” In addition to defining what a sober living home is, the ordinance states certain requirements for these homes. One of these new requirements regards an issue brought up at the last Township Council meeting. Howell’s new adopted ordinance states that these sober living homes cannot have an occupancy greater than 10 people, excluding an operator who must live in the house and have the authority to exert control over the residence and set rules for it. The issue of occupancy came up at the last meeting, where residents of nearby homes raised concerns that the state mandated limit of 10 residents in each sober living home was not being followed. The last thing the new ordinance does is set requirements that owners must meet before beginning operation. One of the first requirements is that each sober living home must have a Class F license to operate a cooperative sober living residence from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Sober living homes that do not have this license are prohibited by the township in the new ordinance. The second and third requirements set it so that CSLR facilities have a minimum distance (Ordinance - See Page 5)
TO ADVERTISE, CALL 732-657-7344 EXT. 206