Category: Independent Opinion

  • It’s all about the money

    Former Gov. James E. McGreevey may have thought he snookered some people back in August 2004. But McGreevey’s “I am a gay American” speech was a shameful sleight-of-hand maneuver designed to try to deflect attention from the real problems. The long-hidden sexual orientation of the former governor and mayor of Woodbridge was never, ever the…

  • Obituaries

    Emmi Giglio Mrs. Giglio, 70, of Red Bank, died Sept. 17 at Arnold Walter Nursing Home, Holmdel. She was born and raised in Germany. She was a certified nurse’s assistant at the Riverview Medical Center Hospice Unit, Red Bank, for 35 years, retiring in 2004. She is survived by four children, Carol of Atlantic Highlands,…

  • Panel outlines proposed student drug test policy

    BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer BY DAN NEWMANStaff Writer MIDDLETOWN – After months of discussion and forums, the township’s school district is getting closer to adopting a policy on random drug testing. At last month’s Board of Education meeting, statistics from a survey about participation rates and overall attitudes on drug use by students were…

  • Merla: Bean a hateful individual with a chip on his shoulder

    My first thought was to continue to laugh at the senseless column from Greg Bean (“Counting the days until the Merla Show premier,” Sept. 13), a person I can honestly say I never met and hope I never do. Greg Bean seems to be a hateful individual with a chip on his shoulder toward me,…

  • Bad advice costing residents of Middletown

    I am almost, but not totally, speechless, after reading your article detailing the facts about David Witmer – the now-suspended superintendent of schools – still being paid his salary and the interim superintendent of Middletown schools also receiving an almost equal salary. But, the Middletown residents have nothing to worry about according to business administrator…

  • Group opposes amending conservation zone ordinance

    Holmdel’s Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to protecting the environment and quality of life of our suburban-rural township. Last year, CILU endorsed the 2005 Holmdel master plan amendments adopted by the Planning Board. CILU also supported the conservation zoning ordinance that amended the township’s development regulations. The…

  • Democrats rely on wheeling to operate

    Find a wheel, and it goes round and round as it tools along with a Camden sound … Okay, reworking Perry Como’s hit really doesn’t work. The song wasn’t really about wheeling anyway. This letter is. Wheeling is the practice of moving political money around the state, and during most of the past decade it…

  • Obituaries

    Riette Pichler Armstrong Mrs. Armstrong, 97, of Middletown died Sept. 16 at CareOne at King James, Middletown. Born in Red Bank, she was a lifelong resident of Monmouth County, and Middletown. An avid horsewoman, she owned, managed, and taught riding at Shoestring Stables, Middletown, more than 65 years. Following retirement, she rode with Special People…

  • Time for state to pay up

    A state court has once again sided with Holmdel in its fight to collect property taxes from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, owner of PNC Bank Arts Center. We’d like to think both sides would now move on to the business of settling on a fair amount of money owed from the past and for…