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Gov. Chris Christie made clear Tuesday he doesn’tthink much of elected officials who don’t do their jobsbecause they spend so much of their time running forpresident. And, no, it wasn’t a moment of self-reflec-tion.

At a town hall event in Iowa, Christie said rival U.S.Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was wrong to miss a recentvote on the federal spending bill Rubio said he opposed.

“Well, dude, show up to work and vote no, right?”Christie said. “Just show up to work and vote no, and ifyou don’t want to, then quit.”

“I’m not saying he has to be there every day. I knowhe’s running for president. That’s fine. Just tell us that,‘I’m running for president so I’m not going.’ But be hon-est about it.”

AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK

Gov. Chris Christie jokes with visitors to Elly's Tea and CoffeeHouse in Muscatine, Iowa, Tuesday.

Oft missing fromN.J., Christie callsout absenteeismBOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

See CHRISTIE, Page 5A

ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION APP.COM $1.00

WEDNESDAY 12.30.15

VOLUME 136

NUMBER 312

SINCE 1879

ADVICE 5DCLASSIFIED 1ECOMICS 4DLOCAL 3AOBITUARIES 10A

OPINION 13ASPORTS 1CTABLE 1DWEATHER 8CYOUR MONEY 6A

Airstrike killed senior IslamicState fighter linked to Parisattacks, Pentagon says. 1B

The ocean’s currents carry pollutants called microplastics, like a smog, which is threatening marine life and our food supply.

WHAT’S INOUR FISH?

Microbeads are tinyparticles of plasticless than 1mm in sizethat can be sphericalor irregular in shapeand produced in amultitude of colors.

An estimated 2.2million pounds ofmicroplastics, in-cluding microbeads,are floating on thesurface of the NorthAtlantic. That’s theequivalent of 79million water bottleslingering atop inter-national watersbetween the EastCoast and Europe andnorthern Africa.

Under New Jerseylaw, production ofsubstances containingmicrobeads would beoutlawed by January2018 and the sale ofthose products wouldbe prohibited byJanuary 2020.

RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

Near the surface of the waters off the Jersey Shore is a drifting veil of smog, of

the sort that threatens the health of oceans the world over. ¶ Scientists say the

debris arises from plastics, including items commonly stored in the typical

home bathroom or kitchen cabinet. Chances are, according to these observers, the dan-

gerous toxins in the materials could eventually make their way to your dinner table. You

know the next stop after that. ¶ Forget those images of island-like garbage patches con-

gealing on the water’s surface, the earth’s oceans are under attack from man-made debris

practically impossible to see with the naked eye. Currents carry these pollutants, like a

slow-moving cloud stretching across the sky. ¶ Millions of pounds of these microscopic

plastic fragments are floating off New Jersey’s shore, absorbing toxins and infiltrating

the food chain, according to government researchers. See POLLUTE, Page 4A

ROBERT COHN/ASBURY PARK DESIGNSTUDIO ILLUSTRATIONAND GRAPHIC

Belmar, joining an ever-growing list of towns, hasdecided to opt out of Monmouth County’s troubled prop-erty tax pilot program, which has drawn the attentionof law enforcement authorities and complaints fromhomeowners faced with heftier tax bills.

The Belmar Borough Council voted 4-0, with onecouncil member absent, in favor of a resolution to pullout of the program.

“It’s a flawed program,” Belmar Mayor MattDoherty said Tuesday. “It’s got too many issues.”

The Assessment Demonstration Program requiresmunicipalities to perform a town-wide reassessmenteach year and to inspect 20 percent of all properties an-nually for the five-year program period.

The county Board of Taxation allowed towns to optout of the program on Nov. 30. But the opt-out would notaffect the new assessments property owners receivedthis year, including tens of thousands who saw double-digit percentage increases in their local property taxes.

Each of the county’s 53 towns has until April 29 to

PRESS INVESTIGATION

Belmar wantsout of troubledtax programKEN SERRANO @KENSERRANOAPP

INSIDE

» Belmar will build pavilions on its own. STORY, 3A

See BELMAR, Page 5A

What restaurants did youmiss this year? Table, 1D