Category: archives

  • BACK PORCH: Digital cable offers way too many addictive options

    By: Melissa Morgan    To anyone who ever said there are hundreds of channels on television and still nothing on — you are wrong.    I don’t think I’ve ever been a huge coach potato, but I definitely go through television phases, from watching almost none, to the times when my body practically wears a hole in…

  • GOP pondering its next move

    Defeat continues party’s recent troubles at polls. By: Rebecca Tokarz    Less than 90 minutes after the polls had closed, only candidate Dawn Smith, Councilman Ted Van Hessen and two other supporters remained of a group of 50 that had gathered at Pierre’s Restaurant to await results.    The mood was somber. Republicans Larry Gildenberg, who ran…

  • DISPATCHES: An election campaign post-mortem

    By: Hank Kalet    There were no surprises locally Tuesday night.    Democrats Frank Gambatese and Chris Killmurray won by comfortable margins. Voters approved an increase in the township open space tax (though they did turn down a new levy for development of parkland).    I say "no surprises" given recent history. South Brunswick has become a decidedly…

  • Global Guitar

    Sharon Isbin’s classical sound travels the world, from Andrés Segovia’s Spain to the Amazon rainforest. By: Susan Van Dongen    Always the bridesmaid and never the bride.    Classical guitarist Sharon Isbin had resigned herself to this second- best status, attending the Grammy awards year after year, only to lose out in the solo instrumental category to…

  • Animal shelter needs friends

    To the editor    I would like to inform the public about our wonderful volunteer organization, the Friends of Somerset Regional Animal Shelter ("FOSRAS"), and what you can do to help your local animal shelter.    We are a dedicated group who believe that every animal in our shelter is important. It is our goal to adopt…

  • Group’s plaque highlightsgifts to library

    New Jersey Post-polio Network donates memorial to Jack Trombadore By:John Patten    When the late Jack Trombadore brought the members of the Raritan Valley Post-polio Group of the New Jersey Polio Network to the Manville Public Library, he began a long association between the two that continues to benefit both.    The local chapter of the group…

  • Planners to consider housing propoals

    Special meeting set for Monday By: Lea Kahn    The township Planning Board will listen to testimony on two planned age-restricted housing developments at a special meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Lower Level Conference Room at the municipal building.    The planners are slated to consider an application for site plan approval for Beazer Homes…

  • ‘Dirty Blonde’

    Mae West comes to life at George Street Playhouse in a blend of tribute, nostalgia and chutzpah. By: Stuart Duncan Ryan Dunn as Mae West in the George Street Production of Dirty Blonde.    David Saint, artistic director at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, is fond of suggesting that the function of regional theaters is…

  • ‘Auto Focus’

    Greg Kinnear delivers an impressive portrayal of ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ star Bob Crane and his battle with sex addiction.   [R] By: Elise Nakhnikian    Bob Crane, a mediocre actor whose claim to fame was playing the title character of Hogan’s Heroes on TV from the mid-’60s to early ’70s, is not the sort of person you’d expect a…