Category: Tri-Town Opinion

  • New Jersey residents urged to voice opposition to home sale tax raise

    The Monmouth County Association of Realtors opposes the bills (A- 3190/S-2643, A-3341, A-3387 and S-2080) before the state Legislature that would increase the New Jersey home sales tax or realty transfer fee. These proposed bills would allow local municipalities to charge a tax in addition to the taxes currently collected by the state. Any and…

  • Jeannette Toth

    Mrs. Toth, 77, of Manalapan, died Oct. 31, 2007, at home. She was born in Perth Amboy and had resided in Manalapan for the past 73 years. Prior to retiring 16 years ago, she was a sales clerk at Mendokers’ Quality Bakery, Jamesburg, for more than 20 years. She was a member of Grace Lutheran…

  • Public urged to attend Veterans Day events

    The signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declared in part, “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,” thereby setting in motion the establishment of the greatest republic known to man. Those long-ago written words well describe the men and women who have served and…

  • Butterflies have a taste for New Jersey ‘home cooking’

    If you’ve ever traveled to an exotic destination, you may have experienced the stomach churning prospect of sampling some local delicacy that you ordinarily wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. While new tastes are exciting, by the end of the trip you’re happy to return to familiar, old-fashioned home cooking. For some critters, “home cooking”…

  • Obituaries

    Elaine M. Cupo Mrs. Cupo, 63, of Jackson, died Oct. 10, 2007, at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank. Born and raised in Manhattan, N.Y., she had lived in the Stapleton section of Staten Island, N.Y., before moving to Freehold Township in 1975. She relocated to Jackson in 2006. Mrs. Cupo was a Realtor with ERA…

  • Bias incidents take center stage in 8th-grade assembly

    Howell administrators discuss issues in news with Memorial pupils BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer HOWELL – There were 26 incidents of bias and prejudice in Howell’s public schools during the 2006-07 school year, according to Tom Letson, the student assistance coordinator for the Howell K-8 School District. In an attempt to prevent behavior that may…

  • Schools take precautions to stop spread of MRSA

    BY DAVE BENJAMIN & TOYNETT HALL Staff Writers Administrators at area schools last week reported that several students had been diagnosed with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria. According to published reports, the MRSA have gained attention since a recent government report found that almost 100,000 Americans contract potentially deadly staph infections every year. One case…

  • In prison, 22 months is no easy walk in the park

    GREG BEAN Coda So, our old friend John Merla, the corrupt former mayor of Keyport, was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison last week. And just in time for Halloween, too. If you’re a Keyportian, you couldn’t ask for a better addition to your Fright Night goodie bag. Much better than a toothbrush, or…

  • He’s home in body, but not in spirit

    LORI CLINCH Are We There Yet? Vernon, our eldest son, came home from college this past weekend. Sadly enough, Vernon is not much for phone calls or any other form of familial communications. Simply put, the kid doesn’t call his mother. Still, I knew he was coming, because the mother of a friend had visited…