Category: Independent News

  • Benefits contributions offset by salary increases

    BY ANDREW DAVISON Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN — Contracts for School Business Administrator William Doering and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum James Stefankiewicz will include net wage freezes, as revealed during a public hearing at the Middletown Board of Education workshop meeting on June 14. Doering’s net compensation would be frozen at the 2009-10 level of $161,436;…

  • Township proposes tax increase of 13 percent

    Committee hopes ‘work in progress’ budget can be reduced before adoption BY ANDREW DAVISON Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN — The Township Committee introduced a proposed $64,979,576 budget with a nearly 13 percent tax increase at a special meeting on June 21. The budget increases the tax rate by 4.85 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, bringing…

  • Matawan Regional High School commencement

    Seniors take their final walk as students during the Matawan Regional High School commencement ceremony June 21. CHRIS KELLY

  • Travel the world without leaving downtown Keyport

    KEYPORT — Keyport’s International Food and Music Festival will showcase the cuisines of different cultures, beers and wine, live entertainment and crafters. The festival will take place Saturday, June 26, with a rain date of Sunday, June 27. Hours are noon to 7 p.m., and admission and parking are free. Take a culinary trip along…

  • Baykeeper asks DEP to ease shellfish gardening ban

    Agency says it lacks patrols to deter poachers BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer The NY/NJ Baykeeper is urging the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to reconsider a ban that would end its successful oyster restoration project in the Raritan Bay. The DEP banned research-related gardening of commercial shellfish in contaminated coastal and inner…

  • Home rehab grants available for Mid’twn residents

    Home rehabilitation grants up to $25,000 are available to eligible Middletown homeowners through the township’s Community Development Office. Improvement projects can include roof, heating, plumbing and electrical repairs, and accessibility improvements. Learn more about the program during a public information session to be held at 6 p.m. July 14 at the Middletown Library, 55 New…

  • Pet fair and wash benefits animal rescue groups

    BY ANDREW DAVISON Staff Writer Members of the Beers Street School Community Club in Hazlet held a pet wash and fair on June 12 to raise money for local animal welfare organizations. Left: Susan Nestor of Aberdeen and Scruffy, her 4-year-old Yorkshire terrier, participate in the events at a pet fair hosted by the Beers…

  • Glassworks site plan next step in redevelopment

    Anchor Glass site slated for mixed use, sustainable reuse BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer Concept plan for The Glassworks features commercial and residential space. ABERDEEN — The Township Council unanimously adopted an ordinance June 15 for a mixed-use redevelopment plan known as The Glassworks for the 51-acre Anchor Glass manufacturing site in the Cliffwood section…

  • Goodwill to open first store in Aberdeen

    BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer ABERDEEN — This summer, “goodwill” will be spreading to Route 35 in the heart of Cliffwood Beach. Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization, will open its first Monmouth County retail location at 296 Route 35 in the township, inside a 10,908-square-foot building formerly occupied by…