UPDATE! Wednesday Briefs From WOBM News

News from Ocean & Monmouth counties and around New Jersey.

MAYS LANDING- Police have captured an escaped prisoner in south Jersey. He was discovered in a wooded area when a resident reported hearing strange noises.  Shane Hopkins slipped away from police enroute to the county facility in Mays Landing on Tuesday.

LAKEWOOD - The trial for the man accused of gunning down Lakewood patrolman Christopher Matlosz a year ago faces trial beginning today. 20-year-old Jahmell Crockam is accused of the shooting death on a township street. He also faces charges in another unrelated murder.

LINCROFT – Ending months of speculation, State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R-13) officially launched his campaign to be New Jersey’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate here and also in Marlton today. Kyrillos is a legislative ally and confidante of Governor Chris Christie. He’s likely to face a primary battle by at least one other candidate. Outsider Republican Joseph Rullo of Ocean County says he’ll bypass the screening committees and run a grass-roots campaign. Speculation has also included, at times, former Highlands Mayor Anna Little and state Senator Mike Doherty (R-23) as Tea Party favorites.

LONG BEACH ISLAND – A beach replenishment project is expected to start on Long Beach Island in a matter of weeks. Reports say contractors are expected to get equipment in place for the Brant Beach project. The cost is a little over $16 million dollars.

FREEHOLD - As struggling Monmouth County residents wait as long as three months for food stamps, Freeholder Director John Curley orders emergency acceleration in processing. Five part-time workers are now a quick response team to handle calls and speed distribution. Curley says that the county’s food stamp requests have jumped 144 percent since 2007.

ATLANTIC CITY – The city’s Tourism District master plan goes to a final vote this afternoon at the Convention Center. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority plan is part of Governor Chris Christie’s commitment to a safe and inviting spot for visitors, and the first real state attempt to fire back at competition from surrounding states. CRDA officials say they believe they’ve crafted a plan that will erase the divide between the moneyed casino zones and the city’s struggling outskirts.

TOMS RIVER - More than five dozen bags of heroin, a .38-caliber handgun, a police scanner and a video surveillance camera are scooped up in a Toms River home, and two suspects are under arrest. 31 year-old Robert Callahan and 23-year-old Michelle Brown were collared Monday in the bash avenue house By Ocean County and township investigators.

FREEHOLD - Freehold High School administrators have launched preemptive emergency plans in response to a threat aimed at the campus for today. School officials have notified parents and guardians electronically and filed a police report. Investigators are tracing the handwritten note while police and explosive-detecting dogs prepare to comb the school.

FREEHOLD – While struggling Monmouth County people wait as long as three months for food stamps, new Freeholder Director John Curley orders an emergency acceleration for claims processing. Five part-time county workers are now a quick-response team to field phone calls and move documents through the system. Curley says the demand for assistance in Monmouth has risen 144 percent since 2007.

NEWARK – If Hoboken doesn’t want Snooki and J-Woww, they don’t have to let them in, says the head of the New Jersey Film and Television Commission. The  “Jersey Shore” pair is the likely choice for a spinoff that takes them on a separate set of adventures. Hoboken officials denied a 24-hour filming permit for California-based 495 Productions. NJFTC director Steven Gorelick says that the decision is ultimately the city’s. If producers want to set up there badly enough, they can appeal to the City Council.