Category: Independent News

  • Uncooperative weather

    Top: Partygoers pack up their belongings and volunteers cover up their equipment before they get caught in the inclement weather in the distance during a beach party at Ideal Beach in North Middletown on Thursday, June 28. Right: Three-year-old Jada Simon attempts to bury her 5-year-old brother, Dean, in the sand.

  • County pay-to-play ban postponed until the fall

    Members of public express skepticism, disappointment BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer BY KAREN E. BOWESStaff Writer MIDDLETOWN – For one last wild summer, it’ll be politics as usual for pay-to-play in Monmouth County. On June 28, the Monmouth County Freeholders announced the controversial practice will continue until at least Sept. 1, the date they…

  • Monk: Removing sign will incur ‘wrath of God’

    Vows he’d go to jail before obeying Middletown ordinance BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer BY KAREN E. BOWESStaff Writer Archimandrite Ephraem MIDDLETOWN – A self-described Greek Orthodox monk is willing to go to jail rather than remove a lawn sign that declares his suburban home a monastery. On June 26, Township Code Enforcer Jim…

  • Officials unsure why dead fish washed ashore

    BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer BY KAREN E. BOWESStaff Writer KEYPORT – Explanations are varied as to why hundreds of dead bunker fish washed up recently on the borough’s beaches. On June 22, Borough Administrator Pete Valesi said he spoke to Capt. Joe Meyer from the state’s Marine Fishery Service. Valesi said that Meyer…

  • Police say gang activity remains on rise in N.J.

    BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer BY DAN NEWMANStaff Writer MIDDLETOWN – At least one high-ranking state police official recently stated that gang activity in New Jersey is on the rise and is not only confined to urban areas. This was part of Sgt. Ron Hampton’s message during his presentation as part of the New Jersey…

  • Two area residents ordained as deacons

    Thomas J. DiCanio, Holmdel, and Glen Leo Mendonca, Middletown, were both ordained as permanent deacons for service in the Diocese of Trenton by Bishop John M. Smith at St. Mary of Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. DiCanio is a member of St. Catharine’s Roman Catholic Church, Holmdel, and has been assigned as deacon to his parish. He…

  • RBC student center approved by Zoning Board

    30K-square-foot building will house gym, classrooms BY LAYLI WHYTE Correspondent BY LAYLI WHYTECorrespondent Architect’s rendering of the proposed new gym addition to Red Bank Catholic High School RED BANK – After nearly eight months of ongoing, though sporadic testimony, the application to construct a Student Center on Red Bank Catholic High School (RBC) property was…

  • From the Vault

    Fans gather for the Haskell Hunt, a Middletown tradition from 1932-96. Area residents once gathered at the family estate of Amory L. Haskell each October for a day of races, partying and a fox hunt. This photo was taken on Oct. 24, 1990.

  • Local sites on list of top buildings & places

    TRENTON – – Eighteen Monmouth County sites have made the list of the state’s 150 Top Buildings and Places compiled by The American Institute of Architects of New Jersey (AIA). The list was compiled from nominations received from throughout New Jersey’s architectural and historical communities. The sites include several Red Bank landmarks, including the downtown…