NOPE Is Ready To Roll Into 2010

Off of what we hope was a joyous holiday season for all, NOPE is beginning its third year of grassroots volunteerism targeted at preventing the Department of Navy from turning Naval Weapons Station Earle into the next Ground Zero, by virtue of a hideously dangerous and costly plan to open base housing (Laurelwood) to civilians for occupancy as soon as September 2010.

It's hard to believe that financial mismanagement and poor planning by the DoN more than 20 years ago has put Earle itself and our surrounding civilian communities into such a horrific situation as this, but NOPE will not rest until the Navy either rescinds or buys out the Laurelwood contract and then levels the homes. It's as simple as that.

NOPE's first event of 2010 will be at the Statehouse in Trenton on Thursday, January 7, 2010, as we lobby passage of S3017 (the companion to House legislation A4159, which has passed late last month) initiated by Senator Jennifer Beck and to be heard by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee at 10 a.m. Anyone wishing to join us should meet at Colts Neck Town Hall that morning at 9 a.m. (we ask that you provide your own transportation to Trenton or carpool with a friend) and can contact NOPE legislative liaison Elaine Mann at 732.308.0021 for more details.

Passage by the Senate and Governor will prevent the state's DEP and DOT from issuing any permits to the DoN until a full financial impact study is conducted by the NJ Treasurer. In our opinion, this will create another significant roadblock to the DoN in its effort to meet an April 30, 2010, deadline to let developer Laurelwood Homes, LLC, build the unimpeded access road to the homes and potentially cause a breach of contract that could prompt the developer to sue for a buyout (from the Department of Navy) of the contract. We ask that anyone who has the WHITE POSTCARDS we distributed at the October 27, 2009 rally and thereafter to return these signed cards to their NOPE contacts by Wednesday night, since we will be taking them to Trenton on Thursday.