Blue skies this morning are not making the state's utility companies feel any more relaxed, as they continue to bring in outside line crews to prepare for possible restoration work along coastal areas after the storm passes.

RED BANK -- Hundreds of miles from a storm called Hermine, the skies in New Jersey this morning may have been sunny and bright, but power company officials still didn't like what what they were seeing.

And said they were bringing in more manpower.

Despite the storm's shift overnight further to the east, a spokesman for Jersey Central Power & Light Co. said there remains a potential for damage to lines and substations along Monmouth and Ocean counties due to winds and storm surge they expect to accompany the tropical storm.

"Most likely right along the coast," said Ron Morano, whose company has opened an Emergency Command Center in Red Bank to manage its response to Tropical Storm Hermine.

Public Service Electric & Gas Co., the state's largest utility, said nothing has changed in terms of their preparations despite the errant track of the storm.

"We're ready for whatever the storm may bring," said spokeswoman Karen Johnson.

Unpredictable Hermine makes big move

The moves come after New Jersey's electric utilities came under harsh criticism in the wake of their failure to keep the public informed, and long outages that kept customers in the dark for days and weeks after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

JCP&L, with 1.1 million customers in 13 counties across the state, this morning said it has more than 2,400 linemen, forestry workers and other support personnel on standby if high winds and flooding interrupt service.

That workforce includes more than 800 JCP&L personnel, along with another 525 workers from sister utilities in Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. Company officials said they also have 490 outside electrical contractors and more than 655 foresters ready to be mobilized. Outside crews and vehicles are being staged at Monmouth Race Track in Oceanport; Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson; Blue Claws Stadium in Lakewood; and the Forked River Power Plant in Forked River.

The utility also has eight helicopters ready to be deployed for power line inspections once the severe weather passes through the area. Tony Hurley, JCP&L vice president of operations, said crews have also set up flood barriers and pumps in several key substations.

PSE&G has also contracted for outside line crews and contractors to be in New Jersey, ready to assist with power restoration. The utility said it expects to have a total of 1,150 line and tree personnel, including its own employees, for deployment if needed, including 334 linemen from Hydro Quebec and area contractors, and 133 additional tree contractors .

"All reports indicate that Hermine will stall off our coast until possibly Wednesday," said John Latka, senior vice president-electric and gas operations. "We want to ensure that we have additional line and tree crews ready to respond should the strong winds bring down tree limbs and power lines."

A number of PSE&G switching and substations were elevated or had flood barriers installed as a result of lessons learned after Sandy.

Christie declares state of emergency

The utility said crews are prepared to work 16-hour shifts after the storm, if needed.

PSE&G also has multiple staging areas set up and said it will set up mobile customer outreach centers to provide ice and bottled water if needed.

Atlantic Electric urged its customers to prepare for the possibility of outages.

"We have internal crews as well as contractor and tree trimming crews on standby and ready to mobilize and assist in any restoration effort," said spokesman Frank Tedesco. "We also have resources from the Exelon utility companies as needed."

To report downed wires or power outages and track outages live:

PSE&G: Call the utility's customer Service line at 1-800-436-PSEG. Click here to view the company's live outage map.

JCP&L: Call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) or click "Report Outage" link on www.jcp-l.com. In the event of downed wires, customers should immediately contact the utility or their local police or fire department. Click here to view JCP&L's live outage map.

Atlantic City Electric: Customers can report outages by calling 1-800-833-7476, visiting www.atlanticcityelectric.com or through the utility's mobile app, available for download here. Click here to view ACE's live power outage map.

Rockland Electric Co: The utility, which serves customers in northern Passaic and Bergen Counties, can be reached at 1-877-434-4100. To view Rockland Electgric's live outage map, click here.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Gov. Chris Christie said a change in the storm's track will lessen the impact on the state's coastal communities.

WASHINGTON -- Hermine, the unpredictable coastal storm, is shifting east, and that's "good news" for New Jersey coastal communities, Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday.

Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," Christie said he still expected some flooding in Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties beginning later Sunday, but less severe than originally feared.

"We got some good news overnight," Christie said. "Unless it makes a turn back west, I think we'll look at moderate flooding rather than a very severe impact." 

Hermine makes big move on Sunday

Christie on Saturday declared a state of emergency for the three coastal counties, saying, "the impending weather conditions constitute an imminent hazard, which threatens and presently endangers the health, safety, and resources of the residents."

Tropical storm warnings remained in effect and New Jersey utilities had extra crews on standby in case they were needed.

Christie is scheduled to discuss the storm in Morristown shortly after noon. 

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Even though some beaches along the Jersey Shore remained closed due to dangerous surf conditions caused by Hermine, the storm's shift in course brought sunshine instead of rain to the coast on Sunday.

A "freak show" storm was supposed to wash out Labor Day weekend, keep visitors away from the shore and put a premature end to summer.

And then the sun came out.

After Tropical Storm Hermine unexpectedly shifted to the east overnight, blue skies and sunshine welcomed visitors to the Jersey Shore on Sunday morning.

New Jersey will still face dangerously high seas and strong rip currents, tropical storm-force winds near the coast and a large storm surge that will likely cause coastal flooding in towns along the Jersey Shore, if the storm maintains its easterly track. However, rainfall amounts will be far lower than projected, and wind gusts will likely be much weaker in inland areas.

Asbury Park's iconic boardwalk was already busy by 10:30 a.m., as people strolled along the boards looking out at the pounding surf, popped into oceanfront businesses and even stopped to play games of miniature golf.

In nearby Bradley Beach, visitors unable to go into the ocean walked with their feet in the sand and the edge of the water, as the boardwalk there was also filled with people.

Freehold resident Marianne Contessa made the trip to Bradley Beach on Sunday morning, to check out the condition of the ocean and the beaches.

"I expected it to be rainy and nasty. But when I woke up and saw the sun, I checked online to see how the waves were, because I am a surfer, and of course they weren't surfable because of the hurricane, but the beauty of the ocean and nature is just so powerful, I wanted to come down to the shore and see it for myself," Contessa said while walking along the water.  "It's actually a nice beach day."

While strong winds whipped the red flags on the beach that signaled that the surf conditions were too dangerous for swimming, Bradley Beach still had lifeguards stationed on the beach to keep visitors safe.

"It's a lot nicer today than we expected it would be. When I went to bed last night I expected there would be rain and heavy surf, a total washout and that nobody would even be out here today," said Joe Jankewicz, who has been a lifeguard since the early 1970s. "But you can see that people are walking the boardwalk and they're curious to see what's up, even though they can't go into the water."

Because swimming was prohibited, the lifeguards stationed near 4th Avenue found different ways to keep themselves occupied when they had no one to look out for, including playing a round of golf on the beach.

"We have horseshoes back at the house," Jankewicz said. "That might be the next game."

Hermine followed Largo, Florida resident Jim Linkin on his vacation to New Jersey, as the storm dumped approximately 12 inches of rain on Largo several days before he was sitting on Bradley Beach's boardwalk waiting for the worst of the storm to hit there.

"We were just going to hunker down today, stay inside and maybe play some games when we thought today was going to be a wash out. And from what we're told, the worst is still yet to come," Linkin said. "But when it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, we decided to come out here to check out the huge surf and to enjoy the breeze and the sunshine while we can." 

Even though the skies were clear Sunday morning, emergency management officials said that the Shore had not weathered the storm quite yet, and warned residents not to let down their guard.

As rainfall projections dropped and forecasts showed coastal storm Hermine shifting its path, some beachgoers tried to make the most of the sunny day. But authorities cautioned against going in the water, where rip currents and rough surf still pose danger.

Atlantic County spokeswoman Linda Gilmore said although some area beaches were still open to swimmers, several others were forbidding people from entering the ocean.

"We just caution anyone that is thinking of going into the water to only do so at guarded beaches and to certainly exercise extreme caution in doing so," she said.

Vince Jones, Atlantic County's emergency management coordinator, in a press release told residents to prepare for moderate to major flooding during high tides tonight and Monday morning. People who live in low-lying, flood-prone areas should move their cars to higher ground, Jones added. 

In Bay Head, beaches were closed along with neighboring Mantoloking and Brick Township to the south because of large waves swallowing the beach reduced to a ribbon of sand by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Crews wrapped yellow caution tape across the stairways leading to the beach, keeping dozens of spectators on the decks.

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said his emergency operation's center is on low-level activation. Officials will continue to monitor the storm track and communicate with the local office of emergency management managers, he said. 

"I think we've dodged a big one here," Golden said.

He said there's still a concern for flooding along the oceanfront and in the back bays, especially during Monday morning's high tide. 

"We're always worried about that because of the pressure of the surf surge on the back bays," Golden said. "If they don't get drained out, it backs up. So we're always looking at the coastal flooding during those high tides."

--Staff writers Alex Napoliello, MaryAnn Spoto and Marisa Iati contributed to this report.

Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Christie is not ordering an evacuation of barrier islands, "but that may change" if the storm's path veers again. Watch video

MORRISTOWN -- Gov. Chris Christie  on Sunday said he was "more relieved than concerned" by the news that revised weather forecasts show Hermine weakening, but he warned that the coastal storm still poses a "moderate to major" risk of flooding for New Jersey shore residents.

Having declared a state of emergency in south Jersey counties on Saturday, the governor on Sunday afternoon offered an updated assessment of the state's emergency response plans

"I want to make this clear, this is certainly not Sandy and not even Jonas," said Christie, flanked by Humvees and generators from the National Guard Armory in Morristown.

Ocean County, Atlantic County and Cape May County are still under a state of emergency, qualifying them for increased state assistance should flooding or storm damage outstrip normal county and municipal operating services.

Christie said he was "not ordering an evacuation of barrier islands at this time, but that may change" and urged residents and tourists alike to "keep and eye and ear on your local news."

State of emergency declared for South Jersey

The next update from the National Weather Service is expected around 6 p.m., so tropical storm warnings are very likely to continue at least until then. The governor added that he would offer an update after a briefing from the National Weather Service.

"I want to be clear about why I signed the state of emergency," said Christie, noting that he did so "because it's a holiday weekend," and staffing levels at the National Guard wouldn't be as high as they normally would be.

The state of emergency gives the state "the maximum amount of flexibility to respond to the storm as needed," and "is more about preparedness than anything else."

The governor noted that 900,000 more people are at the shore this weekend than during the off-season, when storms like Sandy and Jonas hit. 

All New York City and Long Island beaches, along with Rehoboth Beach, Del. remained closed, pouring cold water on the plans of vacationers despite an otherwise temperate Labor Day holiday weekend.

While the governor was still running for president in January, he was strongly criticized for what some saw as as a flippant response to the flooding aftermath in Cape May County after a winter nor'easter struck.

"I don't know what you want me to do, you want me to go down there with a mop?" the governor responded testily when asked why he'd returned to the campaign trail so quickly during a Hooksett, N.H. town hall meeting.

On Sunday, Christie said that fine weather made issuing precautions and making preparations "a damned if you do and damned if you don't" event.

"Weathermen are allowed to be wrong and still come to work the next day," he said. "Governors, not the same."

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

While a sunny Sunday has allayed many fears, Hermine is still expected to cause high winds and coastal flooding along the Garden State coastline.

Jersey Shore revelers and residents shouldn't let a sunny Sunday fool them, forecasters say -- post-tropical storm Hermine remains an imminent threat lurking just offshore. 

A visible satellite image of post-tropical storm Hermine at 5 p.m. Sunday. (courtesy NOAA)

While the forecast for New Jersey undoubtedly improved as the storm tracked farther east than expected Sunday morning, experts still predict the storm will pivot north and then back west toward the Garden State in the coming 24 hours.

As a result, tropical storm warnings remain in effect for the entire coastline.

"Although the (National Hurricane Center) forecast track has been shifted eastward today, there is still a threat of tropical storm conditions, coastal flooding and large waves along portions of the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States coast during the next couple of days," the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. update. 

As of 5 p.m., Hermine has slowed down significantly, and is now heading east-northeast at 5 miles per hour off the Virginia coast. Forecasters expect a trough of low pressure to interact with Hermine in the near future, pulling it back toward the coast.  

Clouds should increase overnight and rain and wind are possible along the entire New Jersey coast Monday morning. Moderate to major flooding remains possible during Monday's high tides, the National Weather Service said.  

"There is particular concern for tidal flooding in the back bays due to the prolonged nature of the event with Hermine stalling off the Delmarva and NJ coast for several days," the National Weather Service's Mount Holly wrote in its most recent briefing. "In these back bays, the water will fail to drain and thus the tidal flooding threat increases with each successive high tide. Access roads to the barrier islands will likely be closed around the times of high tides, especially Monday morning and Monday evening."

Officials are urging residents along the Shore to pay close attention to the forecast, as conditions can change rapidly with only minor changes to Hermine's ultimate track.  

Gov. Chris Christie seemed to be optimistic about the forecast for Labor Day. He directed that Island Beach State Park be reopened Monday at 9 a.m. but he noted state officials would closely monitor Hermine's track.

Also, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is resuming a regular holiday schedule, attending a Labor Day parade in South Plainfield in the morning and then another parade in Rutherford in the afternoon.

Stephen Stirling may be reached at sstirling@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @sstirling. Find him on Facebook.

Officials from Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May counties all said they would monitor high tides Sunday night and Monday

CAPE MAY -- As the sun set on Sunday, officials from the state's four shore counties said the main effect of Tropical Storm Hermine was that some visitors were staying away from the beach.

Officials did report beach erosion in some shore locations as a result of the unusually rough surf, which closed some beaches for swimming, though others remained open. 

"It's been good," Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy, who doubles as the county emergency management coordinator.

Ed Conover, Atlantic County's deputy director of emergency management, said Sunday evening, "Up to this point, we haven't had any flooding at all."

Officials also said they would continue to monitor high tides Sunday evening at about 11 p.m., and again on Monday morning about 12 hours later, when there was still some concern about flooding due to a combined surge and high tide. 

The main damage from the storm may have been economic. Beaches and especially boardwalks were far from deserted Sunday, when the sun was out all day, but shore officials reported thinner crowds than usual for a Labor Day weekend.

"They were saying Cape May probably lost a third of its normal crowds," said Diane Wieland, a Cape May County spokeswoman, summing up the assessment of county officials on Sunday.    

Monmouth County Freeholder Serina DiMaso, the freeholder board's public safety liaison, said Monmouth had staffed its emergency management center in Freehold on Sunday, concerned that a storm surge compounded by the mid-day high tide might lead to flooding. She said officials breathed a sigh of relief, however, when the tide came in with a surge, and no flooding resulted.

"It's excellent news, we were very lucky here in Monmouth," DiMasi said.

But DiMaso is also the freeholder in charge of tourism, and in that sense the weekend's news was not all good. While Monmouth boardwalks were busy, there was a sense that some businesses had been hurt by cancelled reservations or postponed day trips among people scared off by ominous forecasts earlier in the week.

Still, DiMaso said she would not know for sure until the county surveyed shore business owners on their weekend performance later in the week.

And she said businesses were hopeful that Monday and the rest of the week would bounce back, though county officials would continue to monitor the surf for surges or rip tides.

Gov. Chris Christie, who had declared a state of emergency along the shore on Saturday, appeared in Morristown on Sunday, when the weather had turned out much brighter than the forecasts.

Christie was eager to explain why he had made the declaration, which helped prepare the state for storm-related emergencies but also may also have stoked fears among would-be vacationers. He called Hermine "a damned if you do and damned if you don't" event.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Jenkinson's Boardwalk was evacuated late Sunday night after an unsubstantiated report of a bomb threat.

UPDATE: Jenkinson's Boardwalk reopens after bomb threat, search

POINT PLEASANT BEACH - Jenkinson's Boardwalk was evacuated late Sunday night after an unsubstantiated report of a bomb threat.

Jenkinson's Boardwalk was evacuated late Sunday night after an unsubstantiated report of a bomb threat. (Maryann Spoto | NJ Advance Media)

Toby Wolf, spokeswoman for Jenkinson's Boardwalk, said the boardwalk, including the rides, nightclubs and arcades, were evacuated at approximately 10 p.m. Wolf said it was unsubstantiated because the person who reported it to boardwalk security said they heard about the threat from another individual.

Security then called Point Pleasant Beach Police, Wolf said.

Wolf said the boardwalk was cleared in an orderly fashion. Police did a sweep of the boardwalk heading north from the police substation on Arnold Avenue and found nothing, Wolf said. Police were then doing the same sweep heading south.

People were still milling about at several intersections as of midnight. There was no estimate available on when the boardwalk would reopen, however police appeared to be beginning to leave shortly after midnight. Ocean Avenue was closed between Trenton and Arnold avenues, and Broadway was closed as well. 

Hermine continues to swirl far out in the Atlantic, but the Jersey Shore could still face some coastal flooding and dangerous rip currents on Labor Day.

Like an unwelcome guest who doesn't want to leave, post-tropical cyclone Hermine continues to linger in the Atlantic Ocean on Labor Day morning, packing winds of 70 mph and moving very slowly northward, several hundred miles off the coast of Maryland.

The storm's far distance from New Jersey has prompted the National Hurricane Center to lift the tropical storm warnings that had been in place for the entire Jersey Shore, Delaware Bay and Raritan Bay. Those warnings were replaced by coastal flood warnings, which have now been downgraded to a coastal flood advisory, effective through 5 a.m. Tuesday. 

Forecasters say minor coastal flooding is anticipated during the morning and evening high tide cycles on Monday. 

In addition, the threat of dangerous rip currents remains high on Monday and a tropical storm warning remains in effect for the coastal waters off the Jersey Shore and Long Island because Hermine is generating "dangerously high seas," with waves as high as 10 to 14 feet, the National Weather Service said in a marine warning statement.

On top of the rough waves, boaters will have to deal with strong winds, said Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's regional forecast office in Mount Holly.

"We're still gonna be dealing with winds of about 20 to 30 miles per hour and gusts of 35 to 40 miles per hour once you get out into the ocean waters," Gaines said Monday morning.

Labor Day visitors to beaches along the Jersey Shore could expect mostly cloudy skies and gusty winds, but dry conditions, Gaines said. The further north and west you get from the Shore, you'll find mostly sunny skies and lighter winds.  

Monday, Not much of a beach day! @GarySzatkowski @coastalliving @AsburyParkPress @JSHurricaneNews @NWSNewYorkNY pic.twitter.com/ACmJPO42i5

-- Bill Mckim (@belmardays) September 5, 2016

As of 5 a.m. Monday, the center of Hermine was located far off the coast of Maryland, about 360 miles south and east of Atlantic City and was drifting north at only 3 mph. 

"A gradual turn toward the north-northwest and northwest is expected to occur this afternoon and tonight," the National Hurricane Center said in its Monday morning update. "A northeastward motion is expected to begin by Tuesday night.  On the forecast track, the center of Hermine will meander slowly offshore of the mid-Atlantic coast for the next couple of days."

With sustained winds of 70 mph, Hermine is expected to remain near hurricane strength through Monday night, but will gradually weaken by Tuesday morning, the hurricane center said.

This map shows the projected track of post-tropical cyclone Hermine, as of 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 5 (National Hurricane Center)  

At Reeds Beach in Middle Township, a small community on the Delaware Bay that flooded during Hurricane Sandy, the roads were clear and the winds were calm on Labor Day morning. Homes raised on stilts were standing high above the water.

Optimistic that the threat from Hermine was waning Sunday night, Gov. Chris Christie directed that Island Beach State Park be reopened Monday at 9 a.m., but the governor noted state officials would closely monitor the storm's track.

New York City plans to close its public beaches on Labor Day because of rip currents, and the ban could extend into Tuesday, depending on weather conditions, officials said.

Long Island authorities urged people to evacuate the popular summer getaway of Fire Island to avoid any storm surge and coastal flooding. Emergency officials warned that anyone who stayed would not be able to leave after ferries shut down Sunday evening.

Hermine rose up over the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida early Friday morning as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across Georgia.

The storm has caused two deaths, inflicted widespread property damage and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people from Florida to Virginia.

Staff writer Erin O'Neill and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Homeless pets from northern and central New Jersey that are awaiting adoption.

These are just a small sampling of the thousands of homeless animals currently being cared for by shelters and rescues in New Jersey.

Many lost their homes due to an owner's illness or having to relocate where pets were not allowed. Others have never known a real home, rescued as stray puppies and kittens or born in shelters.

In almost every case, however, they share one thing in common: the desire to become a loving pet for someone willing to adopt them.

Click on the caption button to see information on these adoptable animals and the organizations and groups caring for them. More pets in need of adoption can be seen by clicking this link and this link.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

The armed robbery was reported around 6 p.m. Monday at the Rite Aid on Burnt Tavern Road

BRICK -- Brick police are looking for three "armed and dangerous" men they say robbed a Rite Aid pharmacy at gunpoint Sunday.

The armed robbery was reported around 6 p.m. at the pharmacy at 1041 Burnt Tavern Road.

Police said that one man armed with a silver and black handgun disabled the automatic door and kept watch of a store associate and several customers, while the other two continued to the pharmacy in the back of the store.

One of the two had a black handgun and jumped over the pharmacy counter and demanded several types of prescription drugs, police said.

The medications were turned over and loaded into a backpack. The duo then ran to the front of the store. The man who had been keeping watch reactivated the door before all three fled on foot toward Red Maple Drive, police said.

Police believe they may have entered a small black or blue SUV that headed eastbound on Van Zile Road toward Route 70. It is described as a Toyota or Mazda with no visible front plate.

The first man is described as black, about 6 feet tall, 170 to 190 pounds, 20 to 30 years old with a full beard and mustache, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark shorts, white sneakers and in possession of a silver and black semi-automatic handgun.

The second man is described as black, about 5-foot-8, 150 to 170 pounds, 20 to 30 years old, wearing gray sweatpants, a black jacket, white sneakers, a white hat with a black Adidas symbol, a dark-colored backpack and in possession of a black semi-automatic handgun.

The third man is described as black, about 5-foot-9, 150 to 170 pounds, 20 to 30 years old, clean-shaven, wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and blue sweatpants with a double white stripe.

Anyone who is able to identify the suspects is asked to contact Detective Joseph Leskowski at 732-262-1121 or 732-262-1100.

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A look at how some of the N.J. natives in college football fared this weekend.

Authorities are reviewing surveillance to see if they can identify the individual who made the threat

POINT PLEASANT BEACH -- Jenkinson's Boardwalk has reopened after a report of a bomb threat late Sunday forced an evacuation of the area.

The report came from a woman who alerted police around 9:10 p.m. to say that she was walking with her family on the boardwalk when she heard a man make reference to an explosion that might take place, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

She told police that she asked him to repeat it and he did, which gave her cause for alarm.

Police and bomb-sniffing dogs from Brick, New Jersey State Police and the Ocean and Monmouth sheriff's offices swept the area, but found nothing, Della Fave said.

The prosecutor's office and the Point Pleasant Beach police are reviewing surveillance to see if they can identify the individual who made the threat.

"The big lesson, in this day and age, is you just can't make flippant remarks, even in a joking gesture where other individuals may hear," Della Fave said. "This is the kind of thing that takes place when that happens."

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Hermine is messing up the weather and creating rough surf conditions, but Shore boardwalks and businesses are open.

If you're having visions of planting yourself on a beach chair and working on your tan on a sun-splashed Labor Day, you might have to wait until next year. 

Mother Nature is not cooperating in the weather department, with mostly cloudy skies, rough surf and gusty winds expected along much of the Jersey Shore on Monday. However, most Shore businesses and attractions are open, so there are some things to do.

Shore weather outlook

Most of the Jersey Shore will have more clouds than sun on Labor Day, thanks to the outer bands of post-tropical cyclone Hermine, which continues to linger far offshore in the mid-Atlantic, off the coast of Maryland and drifting slowly north. During the afternoon, winds along the Shore are expected to increase to a steady 10 to 15 mph, with stronger gusts, according to the National Weather Service. 

Red flags

If you do go to the beach today, expect to see lots of red flags. Most beaches are off-limits to swimming because of the dangerous rip currents generated by strong easterly winds. Some beaches are allowing surfing, and some are allowing visitors on the sand, but expect some wind to be blowing.

This map from the National Weather Service shows the tropical storm warning (red zone) that continues for the ocean waters off the coast of New Jersey on Labor Day. 

Boating danger

This is not a good day to go out on a boat. Ocean conditions are very rough, with waves rising as high as 10 to 14 feet and wind gusts offshore getting as high as 35 mph to 40 mph. Most importantly, a tropical storm warning remains in effect for all of the coastal waters off the New Jersey and Long Island coasts.

Island Beach State Park

Because of the danger anticipated from Hermine, Island State Park was initially going to be closed on Labor Day, However, now that the threat has diminished, the park will be open. It was scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Monday.    

Jenkinson's Boardwalk

The popular pavilion in Point Pleasant Beach is fully operational on Labor Day. On Sunday night, the pavilion was evacuated because of a bomb threat that turned out to be unsubstantiated.

Staff writers Erin O'Neill, Cristina Rojas and Kevin Shea contributed to this report. Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Hermine is slowly lurching back toward the coast, but forecasters predict the storm will weaken over the next several days.

New Jersey has likely avoided the worst impact from Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine, but the storm remains just offshore and is slowly creeping back toward the coast. 

A more easterly track than expected spared the Jersey Shore from a prolonged and severe lashing from Hermine, which has sustained winds of 70 miles per hour and is located about 185 miles east of Atlantic City.  

Hermine has been inching north and west over the last 12 hours and is expected to do so until as late as Wednesday. But forecasters expect the storm to slowly weaken as it does, likely sparing New Jersey from major impact.  

It will however, likely keep tides high, winds brisk and surf dangerous, with swells creating a significant risk of rip currents.

Tropical Storm warnings were dropped last night for the Garden State, but forecasters say moderate flooding is still possible over the next several tide cycles as Hermine remains nearby.  

Model guidance suggests that Hermine, or what's left of it, will depart by late week and be replaced by more oppressive heat. Temperatures could peak in the upper 90s during the second half of the week, before returning to more seasonable levels after the weekend.  

Statewide enrollment in public schools has declined slightly for each of the past three academic years.

Millennials: the subjects of countless think pieces about how the generation is leaving its mark on everything from politics to real estate to workplace culture.

Now, their footprint is becoming visible in New Jersey's public schools, where experts say their tendency to delay marriage and parenthood is having a measurable impact on school enrollment.

For three years in a row, the number of students in New Jersey's public schools has declined slightly and begun to level off -- a pattern James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, attributes to millennials' choices.

Many of these young adults -- roughly defined as those born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s -- have prolonged starting families because of unstable financial situations, Hughes said.

"They may have college debts to pay off," he said. "(Maybe) their career got a late start because of the great recession and the aftershocks of the great recession. They may not have a good credit rating to get into the home purchase market."

Between the 2012-13 school year and the 2015-16 one, statewide enrollment dipped from about 1.373 million to 1.369 million. But matriculation is still higher than it was six years ago, when 1.364 million students signed up for the 2010-11 school year.

Although statewide enrollment has fallen slightly in the past few years, certain areas have been hit particularly hard. Counties clustered in the southern and western parts of New Jersey are seeing significant drops in student registration. 

Of the 25 school districts with the greatest decrease in enrollment between the 2010-11 year and the 2015-16 year, six are in Monmouth, four are in Ocean, three are in Sussex, two are in Atlantic and two are in Burlington. Six other counties have one district in the top 25. 

As employers have shifted their offices from suburbs to New York City in recent years, millennials of child-bearing age have followed, Hughes said. They're moving out of counties in the southern and western parts of the state in favor of regions more easily accessible to Manhattan. 

Young adults are also seeking cities where they can live, work and play, all in the same place, Hughes said. To many millennials, that means towns with train stations, walkable downtowns and easy access to New York and Philadelphia -- not the more residential areas where their parents lived. 

"Millennials don't want to work in the suburbs," Hughes said. "They'd much rather be on the Hudson River waterfront."

The result, Hughes said, is a noticeable drop in public school enrollment in southern and western counties that are far from the region's two largest cities. 

Camden, where enrollment seems to have declined the most, bucks that trend. The number of students there dropped from 13,799 in 2010-2011 to 9,294 in 2015-2016.

District spokesman Brendan Lowe said this shift can mostly be attributed to students moving quickly from the state-run district's traditional schools to its charter schools and "Renaissance schools," which combine elements of both other types of institutions.

These Renaissance schools, which began opening in Camden in 2014, are approved by local and state governments, and each serves just one neighborhood. Thirteen Camden charter schools served about 4,490 students last year, while eight Renaissance schools housed about 2,190. 

"Our focus is on parents having great public school options, where their children have the opportunity to earn an excellent education," Lowe said in an email. "Today, there are higher quality free public school options -- whether district, charter or Renaissance -- than there were 10, or even five, years ago."

Washington Township in Gloucester County saw the third most significant drop in school registration between 2010-2011 and 2015-2016. About 1,100 fewer students filled classrooms in the latter academic year.

Superintendent Joseph Bollendorf said the township has grayed over the past two decades or so, with families staying in their homes as they grow older and their children age out of the public school system. Few township houses have been on the market in recent years, so only a small number of young families have moved in. 

The township is slowly seeing development, Bollendorf said, but for the most part, he expects school enrollment to stay steady for the foreseeable future.

The decline in students has created "breathing room" in the district's facilities, Bollendorf said. The high school once housed nearly 3,200 students, and the district had to operate five lunches there. The number is now closer to 2,300, and they've been able to remove a lunch period.

"Now there's time when a room isn't occupied for one particular period," Bollendorf said. "The hallways aren't quite as crowded. ... We have a little more flexibility."

State funding for the district has remained relatively stable in recent years as enrollment has declined, leaving more money per student. But Bollendorf said state mandates, like PARCC testing, as well as the increasing costs of teacher contracts and property maintenance, keep the district's expenditures high.

"It's a very tangled web, and there's a lot of tentacles involved in it," he said.

Search the database below to see how enrollment in your district has changed in recent years.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Carla Astudillo may be reached at castudillo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @carla_astudi. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Don Bosco fell in its opener and dropped in the rankings. See who replaced them in the rankings and how far they fell.

What does each neighborhood have in common? They are known to have large populations of Orthodox Jews.

The return policy for Shan and Toad, an online children's clothing store, is pretty standard until you reach the asterisk.

The store offers full refunds on items not on sale for shoppers who are "dissatisfied" with his or her purchases, unless you live in Lakewood. Or Passaic City, or three locations in New York.

Customers from those towns may only get store credit or make exchanges for returns.

Shan and Toad's website offers no explanation why the two New Jersey towns along with Brooklyn, Monsey, and Monroe in New York are treated differently. The company did not respond to multiple requests through email and phone calls on Tuesday.

One common thread between the neighborhoods is they're known to have large populations of Orthodox Jews.

Lisa Coryell, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Consumer Affairs, said the state's Refund Policy Disclosure Act does not address online sales.

The policy requires stores to post their return policy in a place that is clearly visible to consumers at the point of purchase, Coryell said.

"The Act does not set any parameters for the refund policy itself," she said. "If there is a misrepresentation or omission in the refund policy, the Consumer Fraud Act may apply to the online seller."

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Take a look at where the top runners in N.J. are ranked

A massive realignment, conference expansion, new playoff requirements and more are all among the battery of big changes on the gridiron this season.

The three men robbed a Rite Aid Pharmacy at gunpoint during Labor Day weekend.

BRICK TOWNSHIP - Township police have released more photos of three "armed and dangerous" men who robbed a Rite Aid pharmacy at gunpoint on Sunday.

Police responded to an armed robbery at the pharmacy at 1041 Burnt Tavern Road at 6 p.m.

One man, armed with a silver and black handgun, disabled the automatic door and kept watch of a store associate and several customers, while the other two continued to the pharmacy in the back of the store, police said.

One of the robbers armed with a black handgun jumped over the pharmacy counter and demanded several types of prescription drugs, police said.

The medications were loaded into a backpack before the duo ran to the front of the store. The man who had been keeping watch reactivated the door before all three fled on foot toward Red Maple Drive, police said.

Police said Tuesday that the men may have entered a small black or blue SUV that headed eastbound on Van Zile Road toward Route 70. The SUV was described as a Toyota or Mazda with no visible front plate.

The first man is described as black, about 6 feet tall, 170 to 190 pounds, 20 to 30 years old with a full beard and mustache, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark shorts, white sneakers and in possession of a silver and black semi-automatic handgun.

The second man is described as black, about 5-foot-8, 150 to 170 pounds, 20 to 30 years old, wearing gray sweatpants, a black jacket, white sneakers, a white hat with a black Adidas symbol, a dark-colored backpack and in possession of a black semi-automatic handgun.

The third man is described as black, about 5-foot-9, 150 to 170 pounds, 20 to 30 years old, clean-shaven, wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and blue sweatpants with a double white stripe.

Anyone who is able to identify the suspects is asked to contact Detective Joseph Leskowski at 732-262-1121 or the Brick Township Police Department directly at 732-262-1100.

Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.