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BAY HEAD, N.J. (AP) — Oceanfront homeowners in a wealthy New Jersey shore enclave have so little faith in the government's ability to protect them from catastrophic storms that they've spent $5 million of their own money on boulders between their homes and the ocean.
The group in Bay Head, which includes a national Republican fundraising powerhouse, wants a judge to exempt them from a plan by Republican Gov. Chris Christie to erect protective sand dunes along New Jersey's entire 127-mile coastline.
Their homes lie in an area that was devastated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
They say their rock wall provides better protection than the sand dunes Christie wants, but the state claims otherwise.
GOP fundraiser Lawrence Bathgate says Bay Head doesn't need or want the government's help.
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