The Gazette of Really Small News

A street musician in the casino building entertains passersby on the Asbury Park boardwalk July 31. Convention Hall is in the background.

Clouds over Wesley Lake on July 31. The view is from the edge of the old steam plant on the Asbury Park boardwalk. Asbury Park is on the right; Ocean Grove is on the left.

1966: In Austin, Texas, 16 people die when a lone sniper opens fire from a tower on the campus of the University of Texas. 2008: Eleven climbers from different international expeditions die on K2, the second highest mountain in the world, in the Karakorum range on the border between Pakistan and China.

After weeks of testimony from customers left in the cold and dark by damage from severe winter storms, state regulators on July 25 ordered Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) to clean up its storm-response act. Recommendations issued by the State of New Jersey Board of  Public Utilities (BPU) include hiring more skilled workers, training more workers in damage-assessment, and making sure call centers can track where crews are working to restore power. Regulators also told the utility to better manage crews sent by outside entities to repair storm damage, and to review its program for managing trees and vegetation around power lines. The order came in the wake of public hearings about the failure of utilities statewide to repair power outages caused by a series of nor’easters in March. Other utilities targeted included, among others, Public Service Electric & Gas Company and Rockland Electric Company, both in northern New Jersey, and Atlantic City Electric Company. ...

1626: More than 10,000 people die in an earthquake in Naples, Italy. 1865: More than 200 people die when the steamboat Brother Jonathan sinks off the coast of  California. 1871: More than 85 people die in a boiler explosion aboard the Staten Island ferry Westfield .

This screenshot of the National Weather Service's forecast for July 31 to Aug. 3 pretty much sums up what to expect in Ocean Grove and neighboring communities this week. Monday's morning sun will give way to clouds in the afternoon, according to the NWS. Enjoy the beach while you can.

1900: King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated. 1967: During the Vietnam War, 134 crewmembers die when the USS Forrestal catches fire off the coast of North Vietnam. 1967: An estimated 400 people die in an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela.

1914: What will become World War I begins as the Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Serbia. 1945: In New York City, 14 people die when a B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building.

This ostentatious spider-condo was on a porch in Ocean Grove.

Sunrise reddens windows on buildings near the Asbury Park beachfront on July 27.

Three weeks past the Fourth of July, flags continued to fly from tents around the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove. This was the scene at dawn on July 27.

1919: Race rioting begins in Chicago. By the time it ends five days later, 38 people will have died. 1955: All 58 people aboard an El Al flight die when the plane is shot down after straying into Bulgarian air space.Bulgaria at the time was a satellite nation of what was then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The region is under a flash flood watch until 6 a.m. Thursday as storms move through with heavy downpours and thunderstorms. Up to half an inch of rain is possible, according to the National Weather Service. Neptune Township Office of Emergency Management (Neptune OEM) urges drivers to use common sense on the roads. "If a road is flooded (whether or not it's already closed), safely turn your vehicle around. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH," Neptune OEM said by way of social media. Officials warned that as little as 12 inches of water is enough to carry away a small car, while lesser amounts can cause "irreparable water damage."

Clouds over Asbury Park at sunset Tuesday, July 24 hinted at the rainstorm expected to soak the region on Wednesday. 

Blustery, clammy conditions kept visitors away from the beachfront at dawn Tuesday, July 24. Picture: the Ocean Grove boardwalk looking north from the Main Avenue entrance. The Asbury Park steam plant, carousel and Convention Hall can be seen in the distance.

1995: Eight people die when a gas bottle explodes in Paris's Saint Michel train station. 2000:  At Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, 113  people die in the crash of an Air France Concorde.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a wind advisory in effect from 10 tonight until 4 tomorrow morning, as a fast-moving storm moves up the coast. Winds are expected to run east, between 20 and 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 miles per hour, becoming southeast during the night, according to the NWS. Strong winds could knock down trees and branches and power lines, cause power outages, and make driving difficult. Outdoor objects such as patio furniture and trash cans should be secured, the NWS said.

365: Untold thousands of people die in an earthquake centered in Crete and the resulting tsunami that affected the coast of northern Africa, including Libya and Egypt. 1907: Eighty-eight people die when the passenger ship SS Columbia sinks after colliding with a schooner San Pedro  off the coast of Shelter Cove, California. 1919:  In Chicago, 12 people die when the dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building.

1977:  In Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 84 people die when dams fail after a prolonged, torrential rain. It is Johnstown's third catastrophic flood since 1889. 1982: Eight soldiers and seven horses die when the Provisional Irish Republican Army bombs London's Hyde Park and Regent's Park during traditional military ceremonies. 2012:  Twelve people die in a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

The iconic Asbury Park steam plant at the east end of Wesley Lake. Built in 1930, the plant supplied power to buildings on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

1806: An estimated 200 people on the Mediterranean island of Malts die when a gunpowder depository explodes. 1817: English author Jane Austen dies. 1995:  After years of dormancy,the Soufriere Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Monserrat erupts. The ongoing eruptions will destroy the island's capital, Plymouth and force thousands of residents to flee.

1945: The United States successfully detonates the first nuclear bomb in a test zone near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

The sun rises over the south end of the Asbury Park boardwalk and one of the footbridges over Wesley Lake. The boardwalk's's iconic carousel building is on the right.

1881: An estimated 500 people in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, die in the eruption of Mount Bandai. 1997: Fashion designer Gianni Versace is murdered outside his Miami Beach mansion by a serial killer. 2014: In Russia, 24 people die when a train derails in the Moscow Metro.

1798:  In the United States, the Sedition Act becomes law. It is now a crime to maliciously write and speak about the federal government. 2016: In Nice, France, 86 people die when a terrorist drives a truck through Bastille Day crowds along the Promenade des Anglais.

1562: In what is now Mexico, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Yucatan burns the sacred books of the Maya. 1918: In Shunan, Japan, 621 people die in the explosion of the Kawachi , a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. 2012: In Okobie, Nigeria, more than 100 people die when a tan truck explodes. 2013: Six people die when a train derails at Bretigny-sur-Orge, France.

This squirrel was caught carrying building materials for its new home. As soon as this image was taken, it ran up a wisteria on the side of a house in Ocean Grove and added the leaves to a pile of more green, apparently fresh, leaves.

Clouds at sunrise, Ocean Grove.

1804: Vice President Aaron Burr and former Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton duel on the heights of Weehawkin, New Jersey, overlooking the Hudson River. Hamilton lose and will die the following day. 2006: In Mumbai, 209 people die in a series of train bombings.

Windows on Ocean Grove's North End boardwalk reflected windows in Asbury Park reflecting the rising sun.

This piece of positive thinking was proclaimed from the fence at the north end of the Ocean Grove boardwalk.

The title is "Asbury Park," but this sketch of the city's skyline as seen from across Wesley Lake is attached to the fence on the north side Ocean Grove.