Category: Independent Opinion

  • Internet fuels betting

    Gambling online is a fact of life. Since the Internet has become an everyday tool, many local, state and federal bureaucrats have been doing everything they can to try to regulate the business. This may come as a surprise to many residents in the Garden State, but making that Internet sports bet, or playing a…

  • EDITH HAASE IRISH, 92, of Old Bridge died Nov. 12 at home. She began her teaching career in a two-room schoolhouse in the former Madison Township, now Old Bridge. Prior to her retirement in 1974, she was employed as a learning disability specialist for the Matawan Regional School District. Surviving are her husband, Ralph N.;…

  • Breed-specific legislation has not proven effective

    Guest ColumnDiane Thompson Guest Column Diane Thompson I would like to express my opposition regarding bill A2906 — sponsored by Assemblyman John Burzichelli — which provides a municipality with the option of introducing breed-specific legislation. This bill proposes the imposition of onerous, if not impossible, conditions on the owners of pit bulls, "pit bull type"…

  • A special ‘thank you’ for an evening of love and support

    Words cannot express the gratitude we have for the hard work and generosity of the Matawan Borough Council; Matawan Police, Fire and First Aid departments; the Buttonwood Manor restaurant; the faculty, staff and students of Ravine Drive Elementary School, Matawan Avenue Middle School and Matawan Aberdeen Regional High School; the doctors, nurses and staff of…

  • Political leaders must remain behind rail plan

    Political leaders must remain behind rail plan It will take all the political support the Monmouth-Ocean county region can muster to advance a plan for passenger rail service through this area of New Jersey, which continues to explode in population. Published reports indicate that in the next decade, it is expected that approximately 25 percent…

  • Act of kindness evokes true spirit of Christmas season

    Reading a letter from Victoria DiTomasso in the Dec. 18 Independent prompted me to write about another act of kindness in the spirit of Christmas. Last year, on Dec. 7, I lost my son to cancer. I wasn’t going to get a tree, but my grandchildren were going to be with me on Christmas. On…

  • Middletown town center idea 50 years too late

    The biggest problem with the town center, first and foremost, is that its developers want to destroy a huge tract of open space, one of the few left in town, to create this mammoth development. Why must open space be destroyed? Titling Ray Kalainikas’ letter to your publication "Center won’t transform town into Jersey City"…

  • Reader compares letter to ‘cheesy advertisement’

    In his letter, Ray Kalainikas took the position that the proposed Middletown town center would not transform Middletown into Jersey City. Why the comparison? Last time most Middletown residents checked, this was a quiet suburban community and not an industrialized town such as Jersey City. His letter reads like one of the cheesy advertisements Mountain…

  • Music teacher’s spirit lives on at Thorne Middle School “A

    Music teacher’s spirit lives on at Thorne Middle School "A nd the band played on! Thanks to Mr. J." These words, along with a wonderful drawing of Mr. Gerald Jannuzzelli by art teacher Marge Leeds, graced the title page of the program for the band and chorus concert at Thorne Middle School, Middletown. The evening…