Category: Independent News

  • Mayor’s veto stands on contractor policy

    Mullaney criticizes override of council vote as ‘sad’ BY ERIN O. STATTEL Staff Writer Matawan Mayor Paul Buccellato’s veto of a responsible contractor policy ordinance will stand as a result of a lack of eligible voting council members. Paul Buccellato At the Jan. 20 Borough Council meeting, Buccellato declared that his veto of the ordinance…

  • Photo

    St. John’s United Methodist Church of Hazlet youth group members Kyle Johnson (l-r), Scott Gocklin, Jennifer Doran and Allison Alfonso present a handmade care packet to Andrew Herman of Cliffwood Beach, a patient at Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel. St. John’s Junior Youth Group’s Bible Learning and Spiritual Training (B.L.A.S.T.) group filled large envelopes with…

  • N.J. high court denies Town Center appeals

    Mountain Hill project may now move forward BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer In what may be the final blow for opponents of the Town Center project, the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear appeals by the Middletown Township government challenging the project. The denial lets stand a lower court decision that will allow the…

  • Four suspects indicted for Bayshore drug trafficking

    KEYPORT — A Monmouth County grand jury returned an 81-count indictment, charging four Monmouth County men in connection with numerous distributions of cocaine on Jan. 12, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. The indictment also charges one of the men, Andrew Contaldi, 34, of Keyport, with the first-degree crime of…

  • Local youths witness history

    Students attend inauguration, bring home memories BY ERIN O. STATTEL Staff Writer Granted the opportunity to witness the recent presidential inauguration, local students seized the chance for a glimpse of history as it unfolded in Washington, D.C. GEORGE ZIRKEL Above: Viewing spaces were at a premium when more than one million people crowded onto the…

  • Monmouth Festival of the Arts

    PHOTOS BY FRANK GALIPO Clockwise from top: Ranney School student artist Steve D’Onofrio stands next to his silk screen, “Maggy Triptych,” which won second place in the Student Art Competition sponsored by the Monmouth Festival of the Arts on Jan. 24. Shore Regional High School student Lindsey Feinberg (right) attends a workshop during the student…

  • Aberdeen projects ready for eco. stimulus funds

    Sea walk, senior center among ‘shovel-ready’ projects BY ERIN O. STATTEL Staff Writer ABERDEEN — The township announced last week that it would apply for funding from the anticipated federal stimulus program to finance a number of planned infrastructure projects. “In the spirit of President [Barack] Obama’s desire to quickly put people back to work…

  • Federal funds can’t come fast enough

    Boro pinches pennies, looks to economic stimulus packages BY ERIN O. STATTEL Staff Writer MATAWAN — The borough is considering freezing spending, including wages, while anticipating the benefits of federal economic stimulus programs. During the Jan. 20 Borough Council meeting, Mayor Paul Buccellato urged the council to agree to freeze all borough spending, including municipal…

  • Program to highlight resources for residents

    MIDDLETOWN — A Citizens Resource Marketplace co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-13th District) and Brookdale Community College has been rescheduled for this weekend. The program, which was postponed from Jan. 10 due to inclement weather, will take place 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at Brookdale Community College in the Navesink Room at the Warner Student…