The Bay Head Beacon

The world of animal portrait artists has discovered a great new talent in Point Pleasant Borough. Henri Muttisse has become widely regarded as the best dog artist in New Jersey and beyond. "We are so proud of our Henri," said his mother Frida O'Keefe. "He's a natural talent. One day he just picked up a brush and started painting. Sometimes he'll do a still-life or landscape, but his specialty seems to be portraits." Henri has produced dozens of exceptional portraits of family and friends. His work is especially astounding because he is color blind. It's almost as if he can smell color. Although he has already had gallery showings in New York City, Paris, Milan, and Sydney, Henri is happy to be returning home to the Jersey Shore for his first gallery showing in Bay Head. The new gallery on Bridge Ave. called "Art Ala Carte" will be hosting the show. The show is titled "Dog Day Afternoon of Art" and will feature many of Muttisse...

His name is Murphy and he's a cop. He started out on the streets of Detroit where he dispensed justice to those who violated the law. Recently, he was a acquired by the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department. Now he has a new beat, as he patrols the boardwalk, ensuring that order is maintained for the good citizens who have come to enjoy the beach. You may have already seen Murphy; he is kind of hard to miss. That's because Point Beach's newest police officer is a robot. Officer Anne Lewis has been assigned as Murphy's partner. During this trial period for the robot, Officer Lewis stays nearby to ensure that there are no problems when Murphy interacts with people. "We've only had a few glitches," said Officer Lewis. "For example, when he got here from Detroit he kept saying 'dead or alive, you're coming with me!' That's not really a great way to greet visitors to the boardwalk, so we had to reprogram that. Now he says, 'Between 3 a...

In 2019, Mayor John Ducey of Brick ran in the 6th Annual New Jersey Mayors Ironman Race. It is a grueling race that starts with a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26 mile run. Few mayors are up to the challenge, but two years ago 37 of them competed. Five did not finish. Mayor Ducey, competing in his first Ironman, finished a respectable 14th, just behind Mayor Gamora from Vormir, NJ. Last year the event was cancelled because of the health crisis, but this year the race is back on and Mayor Ducey says he will be ready. "I've been training really hard," said Ducey. "My old friend, Steve Rogers, has been helping me. He's a fitness expert. When he was in the Army, he transformed from a 90 pound weakling to a super soldier almost overnight." Mayor Ducey will be facing some stiff competition this year. Mayor Thanos of Titan, NJ has won the Ironman competition the last three times it was run, and remains very confident. "It is not arrogance to say t...

Local woman, Anna Moeder, has accomplished the amazing feat of creating human life. Even more unbelievable, she actually created two humans that grew inside her body at the same time!  Her husband, Abraham, said people give him some of the credit but he feels he doesn't deserve it. "It was really Anna who did all the work," he said. "I actually contributed very little, but next thing you know, she had two tiny humans growing in her. I mean, how is that even possible?!" One would think that after having two humans growing inside her for months and then emerging from her body, Anna would take a long, and well deserved rest. This was not the case! After taking a moment to name the tiny humans, Anna set to work making sure they were safe, well nourished, and clean. This often involved around the clock care. Surprisingly, experts say that Anna's feat isn't that unusual. They point out that countless women throughout history have had humans grow in their bodie...

Point Pleasant Beach has decided to allow nude sunbathing in a designated area of the beach. Advocates of being naked hail this move as a great stride forward for those who either can't afford swimwear or who cannot abide the discomfort of wearing any clothes. Council member, Eve Desnuda, has been the driving force behind the nude beach initative, "I just went to the council with my proposal and showed 'em what I got," said Desnuda. "I just laid bare the advantages of having a section of beach designated for those who wish to exercise their right to assemble without clothing and who want to enjoy the freedom of an all-over tan. By opening up to this underserved population, we should actually increase tourism." Some details are still being worked out, but Desnuda promises that all will be revealed in due time. "For now, some things are still under wraps, but you can expect full disclosure as we get closer to the start of the season." The beach will ...

Taking a shortcut to get someplace is a smart thing to do. A shortcut lets you get where you're going more quickly and with less effort. So it comes as no surprise that the smartest mammals in the sea have figured out how to use a manmade shortcut. Whales, specifically Killer Whales, or Orcas, have been seen using the Point Pleasant Canal to avoid swimming longer distances at sea. Dr. Gillian Taylor of the Cetacean Institute in San Diego has come to Point Pleasant to observe the phenomenon. "Until recently, I had been studying two humpback whales almost exclusively. I thought that was my future, but after a while I really wanted to focus more on Killer Whales, or Orcinus Orca, to be precise. When I heard about what was happening here in Point Pleasant, I had to come." Dr. Taylor has been working with state police Chief Martin Brody. "It's been interesting working with the Doctor. When she first showed up with all her equipment all I could think was, 'we'r...

Plans for the first annual Point Pleasant Borough Earth Day Celebration are well underway. Event coordinator, Tierra Giorno, says that it should be a great event. "Earth Day is a worldwide event that everyone should commemorate," said Giorno. "It is a day when we appreciate our shared planetary home and consider ways to save her. Our Celebration will help raise awareness of the importance of Earth." The Earth Day Celebration will be held at Community Park and will include a cookout, carnival games, and even kid rides on Bella, the burro of Point Pleasant . Giorno says that the borough was lucky to get some sponsors to help fund the event. "I was able to get a major oil company to provide prizes for our carnival games," said Giorno. "We'll have plastic inflatable Earth beachballs, some Styrofoam glider planes, a bunch of toy cars, and some nice plastic dolls. For the adults, the oil company will be giving out free quarts of oil. Isn't that grea...

5G is the future of wireless communications. With true broadband speed, 5G has the potential to replace cable as the primary source of internet access, even within the home. Because of this potential, mobile carriers are scrambling to install 5G towers throughout the country.  In the coming months, many towns at the Jersey Shore will be seeing more and more 5G towers installed primarily at parks and playgrounds. "We found that the open spaces at public parks are ideal for our 5G towers," said Sam Suhng from 5G Broadband Alternative Directive (BAD.) a promotional agency for the cellular industry. "There are no structures in the way of the signal so it is stronger and can carry farther. We at 5G BAD. want people to know that 5G will make cable broadband obsolete, so the sooner wireless carriers install these towers, the sooner everyone can cut that cord." Despite the positive aspects of 5G, there are many who object to its expansion. The grass-roots group Wireless Has...

In a small room in Milan, Italy, Bay Head resident, Dr. Falsa Nomé is rewriting Renaissance history. The room in which she works had been sealed up for five centuries and was only recently discovered when repairs were made to the ancient building where it is located. The building is now a museum, but was once the residence of Leonardo Da Vinci, the man many consider the greatest genius in history. The little room seems to have been used as a vault by Da Vinci, and inside Dr. Nomé is discovering unimaginable treasures. Dr. Nomé is a professor of Renaissance studies at Rutgers and one of the world's top experts on Leonardo Da Vinci.  For her, this is the discovery of a lifetime. “It is truly extraordinary and exciting,” said Dr. Nomé. “Almost everything we are finding are completely unknown works by Da Vinci. We have just begun to explore this room and already we are amazed at what we have found.” What she has found most interesting is that the majority of the work seems ...

This week our Editor-in-Chief was under the weather and was unable to write a story. Luckily, his eight year old twins stepped up to the plate and helped him come up with something. They even created a logo. Enjoy! Story by S.C. and C.K. Local beekeeper, Windy Bea, recently lost all of her bees to a strong wind that swept through her backyard hive in Bay Head. When she woke in the morning she realized all her bees were gone. "I was thinking, maybe it's just a dream, so I pinched myself and... I did feel it," Windy said. "I was so upset that I was shaking, I didn't know where I would get my honey to feed my bears, feed myself and how to calm myself down!" Artist depiction of queen and worker bees escaping. Windy did eventually find 3 of her bees. "I was able to verify them by scanning them," she explained. When Windy first got her bees, she put a small chip in each one. These chips are similar to the ones they use for lost dogs, not the kind you fin...

Like many people, Bay Head resident Sally Minella ("Sal" to her friends) found she had extra time on her hands during quarantine. "Working from home, I had at least two extra hours a day that used to be devoted to commuting and ironing pants. I realized that I should try to use the time to do something that I had always dreamed of." said Minella.  "As long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a farmer," she said. "My grandfather owned a small farm and I loved spending time there as a girl. But now, after spending 30 years in a career in finance, I realized that the lure of  a farm never left me." Minella decided to setup a coop and get two chickens. She called them Lucy and Ethel and in no time they were providing fresh eggs. Minella was ecstatic. "It may only have been two chickens, but every time I collected an egg, I felt like a real farmer!" Minella loved the experience so much that she decided two chickens weren't enough. S...

Joe King has lived in Point Pleasant Borough for 19 years. However, if you ask people who know him, they would likely tell you that he lives in Bay Head. Why? Because Joe King tells everyone that he is a Bay Head resident. "It's a shame that in this day and age this is still a problem for some people," said King. "My neighbor, right next door, is in Bay Head. The houses across the street are in Bay Head. The people who live in those houses get to call themselves Bay Headers.  Is it such a crime that I self-identify as a Bay Header? I spend most of my time with Bay Headers. I dress as a Bay Header. Inside my house, I just feel like a Bay Header. It wouldn't bother me if my neighbor from Bay Head called himself a Point Pleasanter." While it may not be a crime to claim you live in another town, King has managed to draw the attention of the Point Borough authorities. He has made an official petition requesting that his home be re-assigned so that it will be in B...

A year ago, the Brick Reservoir walking paths were forced to close for health and safety reasons. Now, the Brick Municipal Utility Authorities (MUA) announced that they will be reopening the path on March 17. This is great news for many people from Brick and surrounding towns who enjoyed walking or jogging around the scenic reservoir. Unfortunately, the MUA has decided to charge a fee for use of the walking path. "We wish we could have kept the walking path free of charge, but it just wasn't feasible," said MUA spokesperson Avaro Wasser. "The reservoir is not like a park. It's purpose is to provide water for Brick and other municipalities. The walking path was just a bonus. Unfortunately, we need to collect usage fees to meet the rising cost of maintenance." Wasser said that visitors will be charged based on the number of times they walk around the reservoir. "We felt this would be more fair than just paying an entry fee. The cost will be 50 cents for e...

New Jersey recently approved expanding coastal wind farms. Rows of large, three-finned windmills could soon be installed in the ocean along the Jersey shore. Advocates praise the move as one of the best ways of providing cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy for our state. However, there are many in New Jersey, especially those who live at the Shore, who oppose the wind farms. They make the compelling argument that windmills are kind of ugly. They believe that people would rather see lovely oil tankers cruise along the horizon than view hideous white windmills closer to shore. In an attempt to address this controversy, the state has commissioned a proposal by Hide In Plain Sight (HIPS), a company that specializes in beautifying unsightly outdoor technology. "Our goal is to make things invisible," said Jack Griffin, spokesperson for HIPS. "You probably have never seen our work because when we do the job right, there's nothing to see."  Until recently...