Category: Independent News

  • Fare hikes, service cuts in store for area commuters

    NJ Transit proposes 25 percent rise in fares BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer Commuters across eastern Monmouth County may be in for higher fares and decreased service on local rail and bus lines that could take effect as soon as May 1. Matawan-Aberdeen train station Faced with a $300 million budget deficit, NJ Transit has…

  • Quest for truth continues 147 years after Slocum murder

    Historical presentation revisits murder and trial BY PATRICIA YOCZIS On the night of July 14, 1863, in the town of Mechanicsville (now West Long Branch) Abigail Bob D. Waitt (l-r), Robert G. Waitt, Joann Slocum Mazzucca and Arthur T. Green II pose for a portrait following a presentation on the murder of Abigail Slocum in…

  • Adult, youth exhibits at Middletown Arts Center

    The creativity of Middletown Township’s residents will be on view in two art shows at the Middletown Arts Center at 36 Church St. The Middletown Adult Professional Art Show will be held April 3-18. Entries will be accepted Monday, March 29, and Tuesday, March 30, from 3 to 8 p.m. The show is open to…

  • Wind, rain, cause damage in Aberdeen

    BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer Portions of Route 35 south near Cliffwood Avenue in Aberdeen Township were blocked off on Saturday and Sunday due to minor flooding as a result of the coastal storm. JACQUELINE HLAVENKA ABERDEEN— Minor flooding, beach erosion and water treatment problems were effects of the weekend rain and windstorm that hit…

  • Massive $10M pot bust spans three counties

    Police: Marijuana was being grown in Monroe, Old Bridge, Manalapan, Middletown BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer Call it a different take on “Jersey Fresh.” Authorities are crediting a Monroe Township police officer with sniffing out what turned out to be the locus of an alleged $10 million indoor marijuanagrowing operation, the largest in the…

  • Watershed council opposes proposed LNG facility

    Group urges governor to keep campaign commitment BY JACQUELINE HLAVENKA Staff Writer KEYPORT — Local environmental groups are urging Gov. Chris Christie to continue his opposition to three proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities planned for the Jersey Shore. The Bayshore Regional Watershed Council and Clean Ocean Action (COA) are encouraging residents to write letters…

  • Middletown collects supplies for resident serving in Afghanistan

    MIDDLETOWN — The township has reactivated the Support the Troops program to collect supplies for U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Nicholas Abbate, a lifelong township resident stationed in Afghanistan. Donations will be accepted through April 5 at Middletown Town Hall, 1 Kings Highway, and the Middletown Main Library, 55 New Monmouth Road. Abbate, a weapons…

  • “Underground Railroad,”

    Second- and third-graders at Strathmore Elementary School in Aberdeen perform March 2 in “Underground Railroad,” a program about the legacy of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, an African American who helped slaves escape to freedom. More photos, page 3. ERIC SUCAR staff

  • Spring Concert Series benefits food pantries, Haitian relief

    Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Holmdel will host a Spring Concert Series. The series opens at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 27, with a program featuring the N.J. State Youth Orchestra. The Chamber Players and the Preparatory String Orchestra will perform individual and joint selections. All money and food donations will benefit local food pantries. A…