Democrat Councilman Expected To Resign in Atlantic Highlands

Atlantic Highlands Councilman Tom Hayden

MMM has learned that Atlantic Highlands Councilman Tom Hayden, a Democrat first elected last November, has sold his Garfield Ave home with the closing expected before the end of June. Hayden is said to be moving to the Leonardo section of Middletown where he bought a home from family member in a sweetheart deal and shrewd estate planning.

If Hayden resigns anytime before September 13, three of the six seats on the Borough Council—all currently held by Democrats—will be up for grabs on November 6.

This matters now to Atlantic Highlands Republicans, because the County Committee members elected in the contested primary on Tuesday, June 5 will choose the Republican candidate for Hayden’s seat.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Eric Hinds seeks to take over the Holmdel GOP

By Art Gallagher

Eric Hinds

When I asked Holmdel Township Committeeman Eric J. Hinds if he was behind the slate of Republican County Committee candidates challenging 15 of the 20 Monmouth County Republican Organization candidates with The Holmdel Republican Committee slogan in the primary next Tuesday, June 5, he said, “I’ve been educating people about how to get more involved in their community.”

That evasive answer sounded a lot like the answer that one of the challenging candidates gave me earlier. “I want to learn how to get more involved in my community,” said Mary Vassilakos.  When I asked Vassilakos how the team of candidates came together, who was the leader and how was the slogan chosen she said, “The Holmdel Repbublican Committee is the name of the facebook page.”  “You named your slate of candidates after a facebook page?” I asked.  “You’re making it sound like some kind of conspiracy.  I don’t like your questions. You don’t have my permission to quote me.”

Hinds failed to educate his candidates about Off the Record protocol.  So I’ll do it:  You go off the record and get the reporter’s agreement prior answering a question.  Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Congressman Chris Smith Endorsed By NJ Building Trades Unions

Congressman Chris Smith chats with members of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 9 after receiving the endorsement of the NJ Building and Trades Council

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ-4) received the endorsement of the NJ State Building & Construction Trades Council during a ceremony at the Local Plumbers and Pipefitters #9 training facility in Manalapan this morning before approximately 100 union members and managers.

During his remarks, William T. Mullen, President of the 150,000 statewide council, said that all 15 local unions that comprise the council voted to endorse Congressman Smith for reelection. “It’s unanimous,” Mullen declared. Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Impreveduto: Belmar Beaches Are Open

Monmouth County Freeholder Patrick Impreveduto announced that the beaches are open in Belmar, contrary to many fake news reports.

Only the L Street Beach on the Shark River is closed due to high levels of bacteria found during testing by the Monmouth County Health Department.

“Some media outlets have erroneously reported that all Belmar beaches are closed due to water sample results exceeding state standards for bacteria,” Impreveduto said in an announcement on his facebook page. Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

“Congenial” Republican Primary in Atlantic Highlands Gets Ugly

Boms disavows Frotton’s flyer

Golden affirms his endorsements

In early April the four candidates running for two Republican nominations for Atlantic Highlands Borough Council declared in a facebook group that they would hold a “congenial and productive primary strengthening our Party for 2018 and beyond.”  In early May the candidates said that they wanted the primary voters, “not individuals who want to wield control,” to choose the nominees.

The candidates, Penny Hofman-Morris, Richard Colangelo, Brian Boms, and Jim Murphy are all friends.   Colangelo and Murphy work together. Boms coaches youth sports with Colangelo and does business him.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Pezzullo praises Trump for signing “Right to Try” into law; Rips Pallone for his opposition

Rich Pezzullo, the Republican businessman seeking to unseat Congressman Frank Pallone in November, today applauded President Donald Trump for signing the Right to Try Act into law. The new law grants terminally ill patients the right to choose alternative treatment options when they have exhausted all fully FDA-approved treatment options.

President Trump signed the bill this afternoon.

“This is a victory for everyone in America who is struggling with a terminal illness, their families, and their loved ones,” said Pezzullo. “This is a victory for hope.”

Pezzullo said he was “incensed” by Pallone’s vocal opposition to the bill.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Manalapan Man Arrested By Feds For Producing Child Porn

Angelo Curato, photo via facebook

Angelo Curato, 26, of Manalapan, was arrested by federal authorities today and charged with convincing children to engage in sexually explicit conduct online, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

On June 2, 2017, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Curato’s residence. A forensic review of Curato’s laptop revealed hundreds of sexually explicit chat messages on his Skype accounts and hundreds of screenshots of boys engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The defendant was arrested by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s at that time and charged with one count of third degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child for Possession of Child Pornography and one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child for Distribution of Child Pornography.

He is charged today by federal complaint with one count of producing visual depictions of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Menendez math: $58,000 = $1,000,000

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is arguing that the $58,000 he reimbursed to Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen for private jet flights, prior to his corruption trial, covers the almost $1 million in extravagant gifts and contributions that the Senate Ethics Committee ordered he repay, according to report at Politico.

“I think the Ethics Committee was unaware that there were a series of payments that were made before they continued their review,” Menendez said.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Highlands remembers America’s fallen heroes and celebrates with those who came home

Twelve veterans of the U. S. Army 6-9 Calvary, 1st Division, and the family of one of the troop’s fallen, are guests of the American Legion Post 143 in Highlands this Memorial Day Weekend.  On Saturday the group served as Co-Grand Marshals for the borough’s annual Memorial Day Parade.

Veteran Tim Hallgring was inspired to bring the true meaning of Memorial Day to the annual celebration when the parade committee asked him to be the Grand Marshall.  Hallgring and members of the community raised over $12,000 via gofundme to bring the soldiers/brothers to Highlands and provide their food and lodging while they are here. Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Murphy cancels his ‘Ask the Governor’ appearance on NJ Public Radio

Governor Phil Murphy chickened out of his Ask the Governor radio show this evening because he could not control the questions, according to a tweet by Nancy Solomon, Managing Editor of New Jersey Public Radio and WNYC.

#Askgovmurphy call in show is canceled. @GovMurphy refused to go on air if we stuck with plan to have Politico reporter @Linh_Tat on the show to ask questions. We wanted to focus on school funding. We refused. He canceled. @MattFriedmanNJ

— Nancy Solomon (@NancySolomon2) May 24, 2018

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet