Thursday, April 20, 1995 — 30 Years Ago
The worst act of domestic terrorism in American history, one day earlier, dominates the front page of the Asbury Park Press as it does on all the front pages of the nation’s newspapers this date.
Still digging through the rubble of the Oklahoma City bombing, first responders search for the 168 missing people who would later be confirmed dead, including 19 children (yes, that’s an injured baby in that A1 photo).
Back here at the Shore, demonstrators outside a Red Bank theater protest a British film playing inside, titled “Priest,” in which — as one protester from Ocean Township would lament — there is “not one decent priest in the whole movie.”
As it’s now 1995, you can use a computer to search for local restaurants using diskettes from the state Department of Labor, unless you’re among the tech savvy few with a modem. The information superhighway is still under construction.
Protesters say ‘Priest’ is an insult to Catholics
RED BANK — About 50 people held signs and passed out literature decrying Miramax’s new movie “Priest” in a peaceful protest last night at the Red Bank Arts movie theater.
Some people were dissuaded from entering the theater by the protest, while one moviegoer said she attended the initial screening of the movie solely because of the demonstration.
“Priest” opened last night at the White Street theater. The cinema, which is one of five in the state showing “Priest,” received none of the threats that forced theater owners in northern New Jersey to cancel screenings. The theater’s owner, Sony, hired a security guard to stand outside the theater during the protests.
Steven Morris and Michael McGill, both 15, and of Freehold, protest last night.
The film focuses on a group of Liverpool, England, priests, including a homosexual and another who has a sexual relationship with the rectory’s housekeeper. The movie is released by Miramax, which is owned by the Disney Co. (in 1995).
The protest began about 6:30 p.m., with people holding up signs that read “Walt Disney’s dream gone to hell,” “Disney’s ‘Priest’ shows that Satan is still trying to destroy the Catholic Church” and “If Disney’s ‘Priest’ represents current art, it’s high time to pray for America.”
“It portrays all priests as drunkards, homosexuals and having affairs with their housekeepers. There’s not one decent priest in the whole movie,” said Pat Atencio, of Ocean Township.
NJ database takes the labor out of searches
Can’t find a good restaurant?
Count yourself among the truly finicky, because there are 1,562 eateries doing business in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Or maybe you know where you’d like to eat, but can’t go out because you’re having a bad hair day. At least 512 hairdressers and barbers at the Shore think they can do something for you.
Now, if they could only find a way to link the information superhighway to your cellular device, imagine that. Get your free flip phone before April 30, 1995.
Unless, of course, the bad hair problem is lodged in your drain. For that one, you might try one or more of the 200 plumbing, heating and air conditioning businesses in Ocean County, or the 275 in Monmouth County.
This trivia is brought to you courtesy of a new database available through the New Jersey Department of Labor. The state has released a complete list of the 200,000-plus employers statewide covered under the Unemployment Insurance Program as of the third quarter of 1993.
This isn’t the first time this information has been released, but it is the first time it can be accessed directly by anyone with a personal computer. Now, it’s available on diskettes — there’s one for each of the 21 counties — or for the modem-enabled, via the New Jersey State Data Center’s electronic billboard.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park Press NJ archives for April 20