Category: Suburban News

  • Property tax appeals may be costly

    By KENNY WALTER Staff Writer Every year, property owners file tax appeals in droves in the hopes of lowering their assessed value and paying less in property taxes. However, doing so can be an expensive proposition, as many are compelled to hire an attorney and an appraisal company with no guarantee of victory. Patrick De…

  • Horseshoe crabs decline concerns Bayshore council

    By MICHAEL NUNES Staff Writer This year has seen a sharp decrease in horseshoe crabs monitored at five area beaches, according to the Joseph Reynolds of the Bayshore Regional Watershed Council. “We found out that the horseshoe crab population is declining, and primarily female crabs are declining,” said Reynolds, who is the co-chair of the…

  • Clients have found caring touch for 30 years

    By JENNIFER ORTIZ Staff Writer Lucy Melillo is the second-generation owner of Wig Illusions, Manalapan, which offers products to individuals who are battling diseases that result in hair loss. JENNIFER ORTIZ/STAFF A second-generation family business is marking 30 years of service to individuals who are battling diseases that result in hair loss. Wig Illusions, in…

  • Old Bridge victims of Sandy finally see Blue Acres buyouts

    By KATHY CHANG Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE — Three years after superstorm Sandy, the first Blue Acres Program buyout of 29 storm-damaged homes in the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge has been completed, according to state officials. That first buyout is a one-story bungalow style home at 9 Clifford Way, which was belonged to…

  • Beloved diner closing after nearly six decades

    By MATTHEW SOCKOL Correspondent After almost six decades of service, the Peterpank Diner is closing down. The restaurant in South Amboy will celebrate its 58th anniversary on Dec. 17, but that will also be its last. The property, which is located at 967 Route 9 on the border between Sayreville and South Amboy, has been…

  • Hegarty Funeral Home becomes family-owned again

    John Vincent Scalia has purchased the Michael Hegarty Funeral Home in Old Bridge, changing it to the Michael Hegarty & John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals and Cremation Services. OLD BRIDGE — The longstanding Michael Hegarty Funeral Home has been purchased by John Vincent Scalia, a funeral director with nearly 45 years experience in the…

  • Man facing mandatory incarceration for driving on revoked list

    A former Old Bridge resident could be sentenced to serve up to 18 months in a New Jersey state prison with a mandatory six months without parole after being convicted on Dec. 7 of driving while his license was suspended. Giacomo Abrusci, 35, now a resident of Long Island City in New York, was found…

  • Monitoring station for wetlands to be installed in Raritan Bay

    A monitoring station will be installed in Raritan Bay thanks to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). “I am glad to announce this grant, to allow for closer monitoring of the wetlands of Raritan Bay, which will help protect the surrounding coastal communities,” said Congressman Frank…

  • Middlesex County achieves record recycling rate, named No. 1 in NJ

    Middlesex County continues to set the pace as the state’s top recycler, as noted by a recent award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The county recycled 71 percent of its total generated waste in 2013, according to the DEP’s most recent data. Morris County ranked second in that lineup with a…