Holmdel Man Charged With Arson, Weapons Offenses

Leonard J. Mazzarisi, III, 29, former of Burgandy Rd in Holmdel is charged with two counts of second degree Aggravated Arson, second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, third degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, and third degree Criminal Mischief, according to an announcement by Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Mazzarisi was arrested at a hotel in Fredericksburg, Virginia on May 30, 2018 on outstanding warrants on these charges and held in the custody of  the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford, Virginia until he was extradited back to New Jersey on June 12, 2018. He is currently held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold, pending his detention hearing on Tuesday, June 29.

He is accused of setting fire to the  Neuhaus Realty Agency office at 51 Main Street in the township on August  19, 2017 and again on January 27, 2018. Read the rest of this entry »

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Freeholders to name bridge for Kyrillos

The bridge over the Swimming River between Red Bank and Middletown, S-17, will be renamed for former State Senator Joe Kyrillos, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone announced on facebook last evening.

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NJ AFL-CIO Endorses Congressman Chris Smith For Reelection

Congressman Chris Smith was endorsed for reelection by the New Jersey AFL-CIO at the union’s convention in Atlantic City this week.

Over 600 delegates from 1,000 NJ unions—representing more than one million members and their families— voted to endorse Smith.

New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said of the slate that includes Smith, “This year’s endorsed candidates… have the experience and dedication necessary to grow our communities prioritizing education, health care, jobs, infrastructure and investment in our future.”

Smith, the only Republican from New Jersey’s congressional delegation to win the endorsement, addressed the convention delegates on Tuesday morning. Read the rest of this entry »

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Howell Democrats Endorse Independent For Township Council

Howell Democrat candidate for Council, John Bonevich, right, with Gov Murphy and Mayor Berger, endorsed his Independent opponent, Michael Bernstein

There are three seats on the Howell Township Council on the ballot in November.  The Howell Democrats have three candidates, as do the Howell Republicans.

An Independent candidate, Michael Bernstein, submitted nominating petitions for his candidacy to Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon last Monday morning.

John McCabe, the Chairman of the Howell Democrats, John Bonevich, one of the Democrat candidates for Township Council and Amy Sara Cores, the Democrat candidate for State Senate in the 30th legislative district last year, signed Bernstein’s nominating petition. Five members of the Howell Democrat County Committee signed Bernstein’s petition.  13 people who signed Bernstein’s petitions also signed the petitions for the Democrats candidates.

Howell’s Republican candidates for council, Tommy Russo, Pamela Richmond and Robert Walsh said that the Democrats are colluding with Bernstein and that the Independent should be knocked off the ballot, in a formal challenge file with Hanlon yesterday. 

Hanlon has till Wednesday to rule on the challenge.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Menendez: Trump’s North Korea deal is the “weakest I’ve ever seen”

.@SenatorMenendez on U.S.-North Korea agreement: “This is the weakest statement I have ever seen come out of any engagement with North Korea.” pic.twitter.com/1bcPRvz91u

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) June 12, 2018

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Tommy G Show this afternoon

MMM publisher Art Gallagher will be Tommy G’s guest on Tuesday afternoon, 4:06 PM, on the best afternoon drive time radio show in New Jersey.

Tommy and Art will be talking Jersey politics…specifically sports betting, the coming budget circus in Trenton and the divisions within the ruling Democratic party that could quite possibly lead to major state government fiscal reforms.  

Tommy’s show is always good for laughs and provocative conversation about local, state and national news.   Tune in!

The Tommy G Show is broadcast Monday through Friday from 3pm – 6pm in Central New Jersey on 1450 AM WCTC, on the Internet by clicking this link , on iHeartRadio, and via the TuneIn app on your smartphone.

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Murphy signs sports betting law, Uncertainty remains on when Monmouth Park can take bets

Governor Phil Murphy signed the sports betting bill this afternoon, finally allowing Monmouth Park and New Jersey’s other horse racing tracks to generate an alternative revenue source.   The news was broken on twitter by Politico’s Matt Friedman and Brent Johnson of NJ.com

“Today, we’re finally making the dream of legalized sports betting a reality for New Jersey,” said Governor Murphy. “I’m thrilled to sign Assembly Bill 4111 because it means that our casinos in Atlantic City and our racetracks throughout our state can attract new business and new fans, boosting their own long-term financial prospects. This is the right move for New Jersey and it will strengthen our economy.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Murphy thanks Feds for FEMA aid without mentioning President Trump

Governor Phil Murphy issued a press release this afternoon in which he thanked the federal government for  disaster aid associated with the March 6 and 7 winter storm that impacted Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic and Somerset counties and kept much of the area in the dark with extended power outages.

Murphy did not mentioned President Donald Trump or FEMA administer Brock Long by name in the release.  Former Governor Chris Christie regularly mentioned President Obama when thanking Washington for disaster assistance.

It was nice of the governor to mention the Republicans in New Jersey’s congressional delegation while thanking them for help with “the Trump Administration.”

Murphy has yet to sign the sport betting bill.

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Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore to be discovered at Monmouth County Library

By Muriel Smith

Rick Geffken, author

MANALAPAN –  Noted author Rick Geffken will bring his stories of New Jersey amusement parks to the Headquarters Library Thursday, June 21,  at 7 p.m.

The author of “Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore,” and other books on local history will display images from the Library of Congress and local collections documenting how the Jersey Shore was the most famous vacation and recreational destination along the US coast in earlier times.

Geffken, who lives in Farmingdale,  will bring to life through word and photo the families who spent their days on the beaches of the Jersey Shore and their evenings sipping sodas, savoring candied apples and purchasing salt water taffy and souvenirs of their visits to Asbury Park, Highlands, Sea Bright, and other amusement parks. Geffken will also talk about the rides at these amusement parks and the varieties of personalities whose summers were enjoyed along the boardwalk and beach. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mater Dei Prep graduates 109 scholars

Mater Dei Prep, the Catholic High School affiliated with St Mary’s Parish in Middletown, last week graduated its first class of scholars that attended all four years since the school was saved from closure by a $1 million grassroots fundraising campaign.

The 109 graduates of the Catholic preparatory high school collectively received $18.5 million in merit based college scholarships, an average of $169,725 per student, according to a write-up of the graduation on the school’s website.   That’s quite an accomplishment for a school that was slated to close for financial reasons before the school community raised $1 million to keep its doors open. Read the rest of this entry »

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