A Powerball ticket from Saturday night’s drawing matched 5 numbers and pays $ 1 million was sold in Monmouth County, according to a report on 94.3 The Point.
The ticket was sold at Soda King in Manalapan.
Township Committeeman Andrew Lucas has not returned a call asking if he was the winner.
“You know if I was the winner, I wouldn’t have called you back,” said Manalapan GOP Chairman Steve McEnery. That wouldn’t have been conclusive, as McEnery only returns about half of our calls. “I was in Soda King on Saturday, but already had tickets and didn’t buy any more,” the chairman mused.
Marquettes Roach (left) and Richard Kosch (right) of the Public Works Department repair a large pothole on Hope Road at the corner of Sycamore Avenue. In the background is one of the “See a Pothole?” signs.
Tinton Falls Mayor Michael Skudera announced that the borough is having its annual See a Pothole campaign for the next two weeks.
“Last year the program worked very well, so I decided to do it again” said Skudera “Road repairs and infrastructure improvements have been a top priority for my administration and the Borough Council”.
Large signs have been posted throughout the borough which read: “Tinton Falls Residents… See a Pothole in Town?”
These signs direct residents to visit the borough’s website at www.TintonFalls.com where a Service Request Form makes reporting a pothole quick and easy. The form alerts the Public Works Department in real-time of the locations of any potholes that are reported. Residents will automatically receive a tracking number after submitting the form.
Additionally residents may report potholes by calling 732-542-3400 ext. 4.
When the waters of Superstorm Sandy receded from Highlands, Leo Cervantes and his staff at Chilango’s recovered the non-spoiled inventory from their destroyed Bay Avenue restaurant and invited the entire town to a free dinner that they prepared and served at Henry Hudson Regional High School which was serving as a shelter for hundreds of residents displaced by the storm.
His business was destroyed, but his home was spared by Sandy. Yet, for weeks after the storm, Cervantes continued to prepare meals for his friends and neighbors in the Henry Hudson shelter.
Leo left the poverty of Neza, a tough town outside of Mexico City in 1989, settling first in Asbury Park with his brother who had come a few years before. He got a job washing dishes at the Cypress Inn in Wanamassa. Before long he was working days for a landscaper and nights at the restaurant.
When the Cypress Inn closed, Leo went to work at The Shadowbrook. Owner Richard Zweben sponsored Leo for his green card.
With $1000 and a note held by the seller, Leo opened Chilango’s Long Branch in 1999. The four table restaurant thrived on take-out sold mostly to fellow hispanics who appreciated the authentic Mexican cuisine…the way real Mexican food should taste.
Three years later, Leo bought a building on Bay Ave in Highlands and open Chilango’s as an authentic Mexican restaurant and Tequila bar. Quickly, Chilango’s became a local and regional favorite. As his business grew, Leo became an important contributing member of the community with his constant support of civic organizations, the Highlands Businss Partnership and he served a term on the Zoning Board.
Now, four months after Sandy hit, Leo’s bank account is about back to where it was when he opened in Long Branch in 1999. He is caught in the red tape of the SBA and his insurance company, both of whom are asking him to resubmit information he’s already submitted multiple times. Windnsea and Shadowbrook have both hosted Chilango’s Nights since the storm which were a help in holding over and raising some money for rebuidling, but not enough. Leo’s spent almost all of his savings on rebuilding, but he’s coming up short.
But he doesn’t want a handout. Leo’s goal is to raise $50,000 by selling gift certificates redeemable for Mexican food the way it should taste when Chilango’s reopens. He can be open in a matter of weeks.
Certificates can be purchased through the link below, and/or stop by the tent Leo will have set up in his parking lot to serve Irish Burritos next Saturday at the Highlands St. Patrick’s Parade.
Your emailed receipt for your “donation” will be your gift certificate. Bring it with you to apply to your check when you dine at the re-opened Chilango’s.
Former Keyport Mayor Bob McLeod said he resigned for “personal reasons” and that he did not enjoy the job. Having served for 2 years, 2 1/2 months, McLeod told MoreMonmouthMusings that he was thinking of resigning and talking to his friends about doing so for quite some time. His term would have expired at the end of 2014. He had long ago decided not to seek a second term.
“Like many municipalities, there are entrenched fiefdoms who fight change tooth and nail. As a retired judge, I felt the borough should be managed according to the law,” said McLeod, “I’m not talking criminal law, but the procedural manner in which the law says things should be done.”
Now fully retired at the age of 66 (as of next Friday), McLeod intends to spend his time traveling in his RV and writing a memoir of his father’s life. He resigned from all of his municipal legal positions in 2008 and from the bar in 2010. McLeod was the GOP nominee for the House of Representatives from New Jersey’s 6th district in 2008.
Keyport’s GOP committee now has 30 days to submit three candidates to replace McLeod to the borough coucil. The council, which is 4-2 Democratic, chooses the new mayor from those three candidates. The new mayor serves until the results of a special election in November are certified.
MMM has learned that Keyport Mayor Robert McLeod, a Republican, submitted a letter of resignation to the Borough Clerk this afternoon at 4:15, to become effective at 5PM.
No word yet on what McLeod accomplished during his last 45 minutes in office.
Senator Bob Menendez, left, and Congressman Frank Pallone, making like chimpmunks at the 2012 Belmar St. Patrick’s parade. Photo credit Charles Measley
A federal grand jury in Miami is investigating Senator Robert Menendez, examining his role in advocating for the business interests of his benefactor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, and the anonymous allegations that Melgen provided the senator prostitutes while they vacationed together in the Dominican Republic, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Menedez declined to say if he was aware of the investigation, but welcomed being probed.
“I welcome any review, because I believe, at the end of the day, that my actions have been appropriate,” the senator said. “And just as everything that gave rise to this was a smear campaign based on slanders that drove the original story, I believe that when any review reviews the facts, they will determine that I have acted appropriately at all times.”
Menendez told WaPo that he likely would have received an exemption from the Senate Ethics Committee for the two flights he took on Melgen’s private jet in 2010 but did not report until January of this year. He paid Melgen $58,500, which was between 32% and 87% of his net worth, for the flights he thinks the Ethics Committee would let him have gratis because it was the right thing to do.
He said he could have likely received an exemption from the Senate Ethics Committee based on his long friendship with Melgen. “But I said, ‘You know, it’s past, and the right thing at the moment is to pay for it,’ ” he said. “When I learned of the mistake, I did what was right and took care of it.”
Middletown GOP Chairman Peter Carton sent an email to his fellow municipal chairs and members of the Middletown Republican Committee this afternoon announcing that he is withdrawing as a candidate for State Committee.
Dear Republican Chairpersons of Monmouth County,
I hereby withdraw my name as a candidate to be the Republican State Committeeman for Monmouth County. I believe this is best for our party and County and for the successful election of Governor Christie, Kim, Serena, Tom, Shaun and all legislative candidates. Please let the members of your County Committee know of my decision.
I thank all who called or e mailed to offer support and to volunteer to call all county committee members in my election effort. I greatly appreciated them, had fun talking and corresponding with you and the other chairs and office holders with whom I have already spoken and look forward, as always, to working with all of you in this year’s election effort and after.
Sincerely yours,
pete carton
Carton’s withdrawal leaves Howell Republican Chairman John Costigan running unopposed for the party endorsement.
John “Jack” McNaboe will be appointed tonight to fill the vacancy on the Manalapan Township Committee created by Don Holland’s resignation, according to the township’s GOP Chairman Steve McEnery.
McNaboe currently serves as chair of the township Planning Board and as a member of the Emergency Management Subcommittee.
The new committeeman will defend the seat in the November general election. If victorious, he is expected to run for a full term in 2014.
McNaboe will be joined by Deputy Mayor Jordan Maskowitz and Mary Ann Musich as Republicans seeking to maintain 5-0 controll of the governing body in November. Maskowitz is seeking his second term. Musich was nominated last Saturday to run for Andrew Lucas’ seat. Lucas chose not to run again, giving up a grandfathered pension eligibility and health benefits, after selling the development rights to his farm to the State Farmland Preservation Program for $1.152 million.
Musich currently serves as a Commissioner on the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority (WMUA), a post she has held since 2012. Prior to serving on the WMUA, Mrs. Musich spent more than 15 years on the Manalapan Township Zoning Board of Adjustment, where she also served as Chairperson. Outside of her experience in Manalapan, Mrs. Musich is retired from a 20 year career in municipal government, having worked for the East Brunswick Sewage Authority.
