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Many members of Lakewood's yeshiva community don't use the Internet, but that doesn't mean those who need to surf the Web can't get up-to-the-minute news updates.

The Lakewood Scoop blog (thelakewoodscoop.blogspot.com) has been covering everything from yeshiva news to the police beat to local and statewide politics since January, with an interactive smattering of stories, photos, videos, flashing advertisements, and even a scrolling calendar for community events.

It started off as a small hobby for TLS Editor Elimelech, who would always carry around a camera in his pocket and make a habit of "being at the right place at the right time." Whether it was a kumzitz (a Jewish gathering to sit and sing) or a flipped car, Elimelech posted photos or videos online because he was bored. With a blog that now sees 5,000-6,000 hits per day and often keeps him up until the wee hours of the night, the word bored "is pretty obsolete now," Elimelech said.

"The fact is that there are thousands of working people in Lakewood today who need the Internet," he said. "You can have a filter and a kosher Web site. What's wrong with giving the online Lakewood community a news source?"

As much of the local yeshiva community considers frivolous Internet usage forbidden under Jewish law, Elimelech said he operates under a pen name and keeps a low profile to avoid tension. Still, Elimelech saw the need for a source other than print outlets that produces real-time news exclusively about Lakewood. His blog uses the slogan "The Heartbeat of the Lakewood Community."

"People know that when they type in The Lakewood Scoop, every single piece of it is pertaining to them and their neighbor," Elimelech said.

"I realized there was nobody covering just Lakewood, and it's a really big place," he added. "Lakewood is a happening place."

Elimelech said he shares information with The Voice of Lakewood, a magazine that serves as the Lakewood section of the religious newspaper Hamodia, and also has working relationships with a number of community leaders including Lakewood Police Chief Robert Lawson and committeemen Meir Lichtenstein and Menashe Miller.

Lawson said that TLS is an important community asset because when it comes to matters of public health and public safety, people should have access to information as soon as possible.

"It's valuable because I know that with information I need to get out to the community quickly, he is always receptive to talking with me and putting it online so people can have it on a real-time basis," Lawson said. "Ten minutes after I get it to him, he can have it posted on the Web."

Anything that can be of interest to people in Lakewood is fair game to be posted on TLS, Elimelech said, as the site does not have a specific set of priorities when it comes to what type of news to cover. Elimelech usually posts about 10 entries per day, and in the near future hopes to switch from a blogspot site to a Web site because religious Internet users in Lakewood have filters that often block blogs.

Elimelech, who previously worked for the Yeshiva World News Web site, grew up in Canada, studied in Israel, and moved to Lakewood four-and-a-half years ago because his brother bought a house there. He said that he trained himself in news writing and computers, and finds that "there's always Google if you get stuck."

With a continued focus on serving Lakewood's business community, Elimelech said he is not trying to convince anyone to use the Internet, but instead hopes TLS can continue to grow among its target audience.

"There are always people who don't have Internet at home, and that's what they have magazines and papers for," he said. "I'm not here to fight with anybody. We are here as an asset to the community."