UPDATE! Thursday Briefs From WOBM News

News from Ocean & Monmouth counties and around New Jersey.

NEPTUNE - The shore held its breath when David Ivins, the homeless man brutalized in an incident that was splashed across YouTube, suffered a seizure last night. But authorities tell us he's rebounded quickly. Ivins's setback occurred as he was taking possession of a donated bicycle at Belmar Police Headquarters, one of many gifts he's received in an outpouring of sympathy. He was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. Belmar police say Ivins was released today, is in good spirits, and is enjoying a ride on his new bike in the un-Christmaslike warm weather at the shore.

TOMS RIVER - WOBM News has learned that Monmouth State Senator Joe Kyrillos is close to announcing a run for the US Senate. And one Republican already wants to challenge him. Toms River entrepreneur Joseph Rullo - a former hopeful for the Congressional seat occupied by Jon Runyan - has already launched his grassroots campaign.

TRENTON - Tyler Hechtle's photo of a dragonfly at Turkey Swamp Alder Trail at Turkey Swamp Park  Freehold (pictured above) has earned her recognition  in the  age 6-12 category of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres Program's 50th anniversary photo contest. All the winning photos were displayed last week at the State Museum in Trenton during the Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards ceremony. They are now on display at the lobby of the DEP headquarters in Trenton.

NEW BRUNSWICK (AP) -- A decision on New Jersey's new congressional map is expected today. The bipartisan panel that's trimming the state's congressional districts from 13 to 12 has held three days of talks without making a final decision. Discussions have centered on merging two northern districts into one.

HAMILTON- Winter is coming but AAA Mid Atlantic predicts prices at the pump aren't cooling off anytime soon. The price of gas in 2011 averaged 3.52 nationally for the entire year...the Garden State had it easier our year average was only 3.43.

WASHINGTON D.C. - Middletown fire department is the recipient of close to half a million dollars in federal funding. Representative Rush Holt announced fema awarded the fire department with the money to help equip personnel as part of its Assistance To Firefighters grant program. Ocean Township Fire District 1 also recieved over $175,000 as part of the same grant. Ocean Township says it will use the money to replace 36 aging breathing apparatus' while Middletown’s has said they will replace radios made obsolete by new FCC standards.

NEWARK - A Metuchen man is sentenced to 48 months in prison for trying to defraud the us by marketing two fake products designed to conceal assets from the IRS and fraudulently discharge debt. 61 year Old Michael Balice, a head of Mid Atlantic Trustees & Administrators, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Two of Balice's employees were sentenced to home detention.
TRENTON  - Brick and Jackson townships will be getting more community living options for residents with developmental disabilities. Governor Chrisite announced Wednesday 12 municipal partners in the Special Needs Housing Partnership which seeks to creat 600 additional units of special needs housing by 2013. Each town will commit $5.1 million to the effort which will be matched by the state housing mortgae finance agency.

TRENTON - The state Department Of Environmental Protection will be stepping up its water monitoring in the Barnegat Bay next year. Reports say, the Water Monitoring Standards division will be deploying five new science buoys, as well as scientist and boat captains around-the-clock to test for dissolved oxygen levels. The DEP's division of water monitoring and standards director Jill Lipoti says better data is needed to understand the bay's biological and chemical cycles.