Category: Independent News

  • Jammin’

    SCOTT FRIEDMAN staff Allison LaRochelle plays a song she wrote called “Anywhere But Here” at the Absolute Community Talent Show in Hazlet.

  • Photo

    SCOTT PILLING staff Angel Rodriguez (l) and Esteban Garcia peek under the hood of a ’68 Chevelle on display during Saturday’s Keyport on Wheels event.

  • County rejects Marpal expansion

    Residents opposed co.’s plan to increase trash at station BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer BY KAREN E. BOWESStaff Writer Much to the relief of neighbors, Marpal, the garbage transfer station near Tinton Falls’ border with Middletown, will not be allowed to expand its operation. On Thursday, the Monmouth County Freeholders unanimously rejected the company’s…

  • Area residents still miss the thrill of ‘the hunt’

    For decades, crowds gathered at twp. estate for horse racing BY JESSICA SMITH Correspondent BY JESSICA SMITHCorrespondent Clockwise from top left: A horse grazes at the Oak Hill farm, part of the Haskells’ Middletown estate. MIDDLETOWN – Long before the Haskell Invitational Handicap drew tens of thousands to Monmouth Park each year, the place to…

  • Corzine calls for cap on property tax increases

    Outlines proposals for reform in address to Legislature BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer BY KAREN E. BOWESStaff Writer TRENTON – Gov. Jon Corzine compared the state’s property tax system to “the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” Friday, saying increases for homeowners need to be capped at 4 percent per year. Speaking before both the…

  • The ‘Pop’ of Holmdel Pop Warner football

    Coach honored for years of volunteer work with children BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer BY TOM CAIAZZAStaff Writer HOLMDEL – On a balmy July morning, Steve Cittadino does his work. There were boxes to unload and put in the storage container on the edge of the William R. Satz School softball field. The boxes were…

  • Hazlet officials pleased with state aid figure

    BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer BY DAN NEWMANStaff Writer HAZLET – Facing a 17-cent tax increase, the township late last week received $450,000 in extraordinary state aid, potentially reducing the tax rate to approximately 10.5 cents. “We were in a tough spot and we were really watching every penny,” Township Administrator Margaret Margiotta said. “We…

  • County taps partnerships for hurricane preparedness

    Conover: Secondary operation HQs would be at Fort Monmouth BY LAYLI WHYTE Staff Writer BY LAYLI WHYTEStaff Writer COLINARCHER Harry Conover (l), coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management for Monmouth County, addresses local officials. TINTON FALLS – The midpoint of the hurricane season is just weeks away, and area officials are working to heighten…

  • KBA given a larger budget than it requested

    Mayor breaks council deadlock with vote to maintain past plan BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer BY KAREN E. BOWESStaff Writer KEYPORT – The Keyport Business Alliance has more money than they know what to do with. Leadership within the group had asked the Borough Council for a smaller budget this year in order to…