Latest news with #secession
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Town triumphs in decade-long secession battle
A small Jersey shore community has won its long-haul fight to break ties from its township. South Seaside Park has been granted permission by the New Jersey Supreme Court to secede from Berkeley Township after a grueling 11-year battle. The peaceful neighborhood of just about 500 residents has longed to be able to turn its back on Berkeley and join another township - Seaside Park. South Seaside community members feel disconnected from the Berkeley Township, as it is geographically isolated from the rest of its neighborhoods. The barrier-island faction is separated from the rest of the township, which embodies over a dozen towns and unincorporated communities, by the Barnegat Bay and a 13 to 16 mile-drive, the Asbury Park Press reported. Residents have complained about not receiving their fair share of services and resources from the township, as well as carrying a disproportionate chunk of the township's tax burden. While making up only one percent of the township's population, South Seaside accounts for roughly 10 percent of its property tax base, according to 2024 court records filed on behalf of South Seaside. As Berkeley's only ocean-front neighborhood, South Seaside residents argued the township has failed to develop its beach, provide 'adequate' sanitation services, and offer a sufficient police and emergency services presence. 'As a result, they rely heavily on Seaside Park for services,' the filing states. Its decision, which was made on June 10, states that if South Seaside's request was denied, it would be 'detrimental to the economic and social well-being' to the people living there, according to the Asbury Park Press. 'We don't want to see them go, [but] it's out of our control. We really don't have much to say at this point,' Berkeley Mayor John A. Bacchione (pictured) told the Asbury Park Press. During a board meeting detailing the situation, experts estimated the rest of the township's property owners' taxes would increase about $148 each year if South Seaside left. But now it is up to Seaside Park Township officials to decide if they are willing to welcome South Seaside. Seaside Park must perform a 'thorough review process' before giving the community the official go-ahead, according to Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson (pictured). 'There is a process and procedures that have to be adhered-to, and we can assume that the plaintiffs would be filing a petition,' he said, according to Shorebeat. 'No such petition has been received by the borough of Seaside Park as of yet, so as we speak, there has been nothing formal received from the South Seaside Park property owners. 'I would assume that that is something they're contemplating doing at their first opportunity.' The attorney representing South Seaside residents, Joseph Michelini, said his clients are going to reach out to the township in the coming days. 'We will make a request of Seaside Park,' Michelini told the Asbury Park Press. 'At that point it's Seaside Park's decision.' But he said he is confident the municipal will gladly annex its tiny neighbor.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Tiny seaside town WINS fight to secede from its neighbors after 11-year court battle
A small Jersey shore community has won its long-haul fight to break ties from its township. South Seaside Park has been granted permission by the New Jersey Supreme Court to secede from Berkeley Township after a grueling 11-year battle. The peaceful neighborhood of just about 500 residents has longed to be able to turn its back on Berkeley and join another township - Seaside Park. South Seaside community members feel disconnected from the Berkeley Township, as it is geographically isolated from the rest of its neighborhoods. The barrier-island faction is separated from the rest of the township, which embodies over a dozen towns and unincorporated communities, by the Barnegat Bay and a 13 to 16 mile-drive, the Asbury Park Press reported. Residents have complained about not receiving their fair share of services and resources from the township, as well as carrying a disproportionate chunk of the township's tax burden. While making up only one percent of the township's population, South Seaside accounts for roughly 10 percent of its property tax base, according to 2024 court records filed on behalf of South Seaside. As Berkeley's only ocean-front neighborhood, South Seaside residents argued the township has failed to develop its beach, provide 'adequate' sanitation services, and offer a sufficient police and emergency services presence. 'As a result, they rely heavily on Seaside Park for services,' the filing states. South Seaside Park is only about one mile away - roughly a three-minute drive - from Seaside Park township. It even shares a boardwalk with the bustling Seaside Heights. The Supreme Court found that South Seaside could secede from Berkeley Township without causing any economic turmoil. Its decision, which was made on June 10, states that if South Seaside's request was denied, it would be 'detrimental to the economic and social well-being' to the people living there, according to the Asbury Park Press. 'We don't want to see them go, [but] it's out of our control. We really don't have much to say at this point,' Berkeley Mayor John A. Bacchione told the Asbury Park Press. During a board meeting detailing the situation, experts estimated the rest of the township's property owners' taxes would increase about $148 each year if South Seaside left. But now it is up to Seaside Park Township officials to decide if they are willing to welcome South Seaside. Seaside Park must perform a 'thorough review process' before giving the community the official go-ahead, according to Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson. 'There is a process and procedures that have to be adhered-to, and we can assume that the plaintiffs would be filing a petition,' he said, according to Shorebeat. 'No such petition has been received by the borough of Seaside Park as of yet, so as we speak, there has been nothing formal received from the South Seaside Park property owners. 'I would assume that that is something they're contemplating doing at their first opportunity.' The attorney representing South Seaside residents, Joseph Michelini, said his clients are going to reach out to the township in the coming days. 'We will make a request of Seaside Park,' Michelini told the Asbury Park Press. 'At that point it's Seaside Park's decision.' But he said he is confident the municipal will gladly annex its tiny neighbor. The Garden State's secession process is notably strenuous and hardly ever pulled off by small communities tired of their broader townships. As recently as 2019, the unincorporated community of Strathmere's try at leaving Upper Township was denied. A few years prior in 2016, Seaview Harbor Marina's request to leave Egg Harbor Township and join Longport was also turned down.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Leaders of Calexit petition plan to start over, refile ballot initiative
With a week until the signature deadline, the leaders of the California secession movement dubbed "Calexit" have decided to pull their attempted ballot initiative so they can re-file it later in the summertime. "We are going to re-file the ballot initiative so we can start the clock back for five-and-a-half months," said Marcus Ruiz Evans, the leader of Calexit. Ruiz Evans said the leadership doesn't want to chance not meeting the required signature threshold, so they will not be submitting any by the July 22 deadline set by the California Secretary of State's Office. Proponents had to submit at least 546,651 signatures for their initiative to qualify for the 2028 ballot. "We felt that we had the requisite number of signatures, but we did not have the insulation amount. You want to get about 550,000 signatures, but most people will tell you that you need an additional 100,000-300,000 because a lot of those signatures will be invalidated," he said. "Given that this is a radical political concept, we figured that it would be under a high level of scrutiny." The initiative would not have been a vote for California to actually secede, as the question still raises numerous legal questions and a lot of scrutiny. If voters approved it, it would have put the non-binding question on the 2028 ballot: "Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?" The measure also would have established an official commission to study California's viability as an independent nation. Approval would require at least 50% voter participation and 55% voting "yes." CBS News Bay Area asked Ruiz Evans about his response to those who would say Calexit failed because of the decision to re-file. "I say, based on what? We didn't get enough signatures this time? Okay," Ruiz Evans said. He points towards other movements, such as the legalization of cannabis and same-sex marriage, that took several attempts and many years to come to fruition. "Both of those movements took about 10 to 12 years to go from 'that will never happen' to full blown legality," he said. While the movement gained notariety following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, Ruiz Evans previously told CBS News Bay Area that his idea for California to secede dates back to 2007. Ruiz Evans explained the Calexit movement's leadership is changing its approach, with the strategy shifting from a grassroots feel to that of a professional operation. He points towards several upcoming events designed to focus on education and fundraising outreach. "The deadline to re-file is mid-August. We're looking to do this at the beginning of August," he said. Though the signature gathering process will start from scratch, he believes the Calexit movement will gain momentum as tensions continue to rise within the current political atmosphere. "The climate is riper than ever," he said. "The soil is more fertile than it's been in 10 years."
South China Morning Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
3 in Hong Kong remanded in custody for allegedly seeking secession
A 15-year-old boy and two others have been remanded in custody for allegedly conspiring to seek Hong Kong's independence through a Taiwan-based political organisation in breach of the national security law National security police on Friday levelled a charge of conspiring to commit secession under the Beijing-imposed law, a day after announcing their arrests and their alleged roles in the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union. The 15-year-old Secondary Three student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, courier Chan Tai-sum, 26, and waiter Ng Chi-tung, 25, were arrested between 11am and 4pm on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to subvert state power. Police decided to charge the trio with conspiracy to commit secession after consulting with the Department of Justice. A 47-year-old man also arrested in the action has been released on police bail without charge. According to a charge sheet available for press inspection, the defendants had since November 6 last year conspired with others in an attempt to separate Hong Kong from mainland China and alter the city's legal status or 'surrender' the city to a foreign country.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bosnia ends warrant for Bosnian Serb leader after questioning
Bosnian authorities on Friday dropped an arrest warrant against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik after he agreed to be questioned over accusations of making secessionist moves in the divided Balkan nation. After months of ignoring calls to speak with authorities, Dodik voluntarily reported to the public prosecutor's office, accompanied by his lawyer, "to be questioned as a suspect in the investigation", the prosecutor's office and Bosnian State Court said in a statement. The Republika Srpska (RS) president had been wanted since March 18 by authorities who issued an arrest warrant after he refused to show up for questioning -- setting of a crisis that many observers considered the worst since Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Despite the warrant, Dodik traveled abroad accompanied by Republika Srpska police, visiting neighboring Serbia, Russia and Hungary. Bosnia's request to Interpol to issue international warrant was refused by the international police agency. Since the end of its war, Bosnia has been split into the Serb Republika Srpska and a Muslim-Croat Federation. Each has its own government and parliament, with only weak central institutions binding the country of 3.5 million people together. - Conditional release - "The suspect Milorad Dodik voluntarily presented himself on July 4 before the prosecutor's office of Bosnia-Herzegovina, accompanied by his lawyer, to be questioned as a suspect in the investigation,' said the joint statement. The court accepted the prosecutors' proposal to "terminate" the warrant, and Dodik was given conditional release, it said. According to the statement, the court ordered Dodik to regularly report to the authorities, and a new detention decision will be issued if he does not comply. "It's an important thing for me, but it's also important in relation to those who were ill-intentioned and wanted destabilization, an escalation of problems in Bosnia through this case," Dodik told a public TV channel. "I don't feel triumphalist. I'm tired of it all," he added. The arrest warrant was issued after Dodik, 66, banned the central police and judiciary -- a move deemed secessionist by prosecutors. That came after he was sentenced in February to one year in prison and banned from holding political office for six years for failing to comply with decisions of the international high representative who oversees the 1995 peace accord that ended the Bosnian war. A decision on Dodik's appeal is expected soon. Dodik rejected the trial as "political" and urged the Republika Srpska parliament to ban the federal police and judiciary from operating in the Serb statelet. The State Prosecutor's Office deemed the activities secessionist and opened an investigation that includes the entity's prime minister Radovan Viskovic and parliament president Nenad Stevandic. Bosnia's Constitutional court in May annulled the secessionists laws adopted by Republika Srpska which plunged Bosnia into a crisis described by some observers as the worst since the war. dd/tw
