opinion

Warning: I'm going to go on a rant here. I'll start by saying that I have the utmost respect for mail carriers and delivery drivers. The vast majority do their jobs reliably and in a friendly manner. But as with many situations, the disappointing experiences are the ones that tend to make an impression.

Back in the Spring I talked about how we have a number of great options for family beach destinations here in Ocean County. But today, one New Jersey reporter is slamming Point Pleasant Beach.

I try not to get up on a soapbox too often in these pages, but last night when I was walking my dog I saw something that was really disappointing - one of my neighborhood lawns covered in cigarette butts.

Yesterday we told you about Beachwood's new QuickChek opening its doors on Route 9 (and the resulting traffic pattern changes). Today I stopped by to grab lunch, here are my first impressions:

Sure, there are a lot of bad roads in our area - pot holes, awkward merges, inappropriate speed limits, etc. But what about roads that you dread driving? Those stretches of streets that never fail to irritate you?

Ok look, I'm starting to have issues with these "best of" lists. Just a couple of days ago I took issue with this pick for "The Best Ice Cream" in New Jersey, and today I'm calling shenanigans on this call for The Best Jersey Shore Pizza.

If you've traveled Robbins Street in the last day or so, you may have noticed a new addition to the beige and grey downtown buildings. A brightly colored graffiti "tag" was added to a building in the last day or so.

It seems to be an unspoken rule that if you catch a foul ball at a baseball game and you're sitting next to a kid, you're expected to hand it to the toddler. But after seeing something interesting today, I'm wondering how far that rule extends.

It's going to be cold in Ocean County this weekend. Really cold. Unpleasantly cold. So cold that if you don't have to go out, you shouldn't. But some people still think that "too cold" is still better than "too hot".

The debate over "happy holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas" has become ridiculous at this point. And, once again, I feel the desire to express my thoughts on the issue.