Columns
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•June 17, 2026
Local 50-Foot Oarfish Is One for the Records In the Eyes of Guinness
A while back I wrote about a northern oarfish that came ashore in Wildwood. It was a modest 6 feet or so long.
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•June 17, 2026
When Is the True Independence Day?
Some celebrate the Fourth of July, others Independence Day. Are they the same or distinct holidays?
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•June 11, 2026
Fender’s on a Bender: How Bad Business Becomes Catalyst in Music Evolution
The guitar world has been buzzing for the last few weeks after Fender started slapping guitar manufacturers across the U.K. and U.S. with cease-and-desist orders in a broad and aggressive attempt to…
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•June 10, 2026
June Finally Delivers Relief and Little Waves From the Neverending Winter
Who would have thought that in 2026 we’d have two weekends in a row with decent weather?!
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•June 10, 2026
What to Do With a Royal Governor?
When we celebrate July 4th as Independence Day, it’s actually the exclamation mark in a long series of decisions and actions that should be remembered.
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•June 10, 2026
Shocking Disappearance of Coastal Falcons Leaves Empty Nests
My all-time favorite bird species is falling from the shoreline sky at an alarming speed. I speak of the world’s fastest creature, the peregrine falcon.
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•June 4, 2026
The Great Green Swell of 2026 That Snuck Up on Us
There are so many ways the surf can disappoint you in New Jersey. Happens all the time. It’s far more common for the surf to be worse than you expect than to be better than you expect.
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•June 4, 2026
Refloating the Past: Legendary Surf Rafts Ride New Age Wave
Monday saw summer officially begin in the eyes of Northern Hemisphere meteorologists, despite the sky persisting with the jacket-needed mode. The real chill factor has been nasty winds. Those seem…
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•June 4, 2026
Jack Mangan Finds New Depths With Shallow Green, Solo Project
Anyone on Long Beach Island with a love for heavy-hitting rock music is a fan of Shallow Green. The original prog rock project splashed onto the scene a little before the pandemic, when the members…
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•June 3, 2026
Declaration of Independence Draft Debates Ensue
In early June 1776, the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, appointed a five-man committee to draft a declaration of independence from Great Britain. John Adams, Ben Franklin and Thomas…
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•May 29, 2026
Barney Grabs Visitor: Climber Hits the Top Followed By Brick Wall
Kudos to our Memorial Day weekend crowds. They were not only memorably massive, but outstandingly celebratory, as proven by fully packed pubs, coffee shops, restaurants, churches, marinas, parks, you…
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•May 28, 2026
The Pop-Up Party That Never Popped With Hope at the End of a Gloomy Holiday Weekend
I had a kitchen full of 14-year-olds on Saturday night, laughing and crushing Pietro’s pizza, including a Grandma’s pie with vodka sauce (Oh man, so good …) when one of the kids informed me, “Dude…
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•May 27, 2026
Keep Music Human Amid the Growing Menace of AI
Remember those late scenes in James Cameron’s retelling of the Titanic, where the wealthiest people on board are loaded into lifeboats and given safe evacuation as the folks in lower cabins tuck…
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•May 27, 2026
Congress Prepares Declaration of Independence
On June 11, 1776, a committee of five was appointed by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to prepare a Declaration of Independence to be used if and when the Congress voted in favor of breaking…
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•May 22, 2026
With the Official Unofficial Start, We Think Back and Aim to Make Every Minute Count This Summer
Despite the fact that we needed three layers of clothing and a hot thermos to leave the house almost every morning of May on LBI, Memorial Day weekend, the “unofficial start to summer,” is here. And…
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•May 20, 2026
Alexa Tabbacchino’s ‘Evergreen’ Is Breath of Fresh Air in Face of Surreality
And we’re back after a long, bitterly cold winter – one that we hope has finally unclenched its jaws for good. As things warm up and the Island breathes a collective sigh, there’s also a final…
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•May 20, 2026
A No-Doubt Drought: Dryness Down to the Aquifers
Last column, I went big on El Niño as potentially being an inordinately powerful thunderstorm spawner. Talk of upcoming downpours seemingly flies in the face of this week’s follow-up report…
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•May 20, 2026
Continental Congress Wavers on Course
For years, independence from Great Britain had been talked about among friends, then debated in taverns. By the winter of 1776, Thomas Paine had published his thoughts on the subject in” Common…
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•May 18, 2026
What You Should Know About the Upcoming Super El Niño Prediction
I understand the reluctance to trust any long-range weather forecasts, but this week I’ve got an emerging dose of sky divination well worth some coverage. I speak of updated reads on the El…
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•May 13, 2026
New Jersey Commits to Rebellion
While July 4 is celebrated as Independence Day, it is the events and actions during the month of June 1776 that made it possible. A look at the events that took place in New Jersey can give you a…
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•May 13, 2026
A Look at Summer Gas Prices and a Run of Chilly May Swell
It has been several years since I siphoned gas.
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•May 6, 2026
Birdseye Field of View Is Laced With Markers Guiding Them Daily
Researchers studying bird migrations have come upon some eye-opening findings regarding how birds view the world around them.
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•May 6, 2026
Which Way, NJ: Loyal to Crown or Rebel?
Most people think of July 4 as the date when the United States was born. If so, then it marks the end of a long and complicated pregnancy.
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•April 30, 2026
Below Average Hurricane Season Projected; Could That Actually Be Good for Surf?
If there were to be headline news in the Liquid Lines world, it would be that the ocean will likely hit 50 degrees in the next day or two, if it hasn’t already. We’ll dive deeper into the water temp…
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•April 30, 2026
Beating FOMO Monster By Getting Upper Hand Help From JOMO
I’ve lost all my former FOMO inclinations.
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•April 29, 2026
Which Side Is New Jersey On?
It’s said July 4, 1776 is a date that changed the world. If that’s so, then it’s worth the time to study the events that led to the Declaration of Independence.
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•April 25, 2026
Island’s Length Is Off: 18 Miles Misses Things by Miles
Time has come (again) to forward the proper long and short of Long Beach Island.
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•April 22, 2026
Parkway Murders Still a Mystery
The story that began Memorial Day weekend 1969 when two college girls, Elizabeth Perry and Susan Davis, were brutally murdered near milepost 31 on the Garden State Parkway has never been solved but…
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•April 20, 2026
April Is Season of Give and Take
This is the season of the give and take. As we hope beyond hope to finally shed winter and move toward summer, we will take steps forward and back. And if you’re yearning for those days when you…
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•April 15, 2026
Did Ted Bundy’s Spree Start at the Shore?
The 1969 murder of two college girls in the woods near milepost 31 on the Garden State Parkway grew cold. Rewards, artist renderings and tips from the public went nowhere, as the nation moved on. Man…
