Manalapan GOP Chairman Steve McEnery told MoreMonmouthMusings that Andrew Lucas has chosen not to seek reelection to the Manalapan Township Committee, citing the demands of raising two young children and of building a new house on the farmland to which he just sold the development rights to the taxpayers for $1.152 million.
Lucas is completing his third three year term on the committee. He was a GOP nominee for freeholder in 2006.
The Manalapan GOP Committee is meeting Saturday morning March 9 to choose the replacement for Committeeman Don Holland who resigned on Monday and an additional candidate to run for Lucas’ seat in the fall. Committeeman Jordan Maskowitz is seeking reelection.
With three seats now open in November, the 5-0 Republican control of the Manalapan Commitee is now at stake in November.
Henry Vaccaro’s memoir, Johnny Cash Is A Friend of Mine is the story of how a fluke in investment in a Monmouth County based guitar manufacturer and a case of mistaken identity led to a 30 year friendship between two humble yet ambitious men that changed both of their lives.
In sharing his friendship with Johnny Cash, Vaccaro poignantly shares impactful life lessons with his readers.
Promoted as a biography of the iconic country singer that adds a personal touch, the story of the unlikely and profound friendship provides more insight into Viccaro, an ordinary man following his extraordinary dreams through the roller coaster of his life. A life for which, he says, Cash provides the sound track.
Filled with personal stories and never before published photographs, the book reads like Vaccaro is sitting and reciting the events of his friendship. That’s because the book was written exactly that way. Vaccaro’s son, Henry, Jr, taped his father telling the stories he heard so many times before and they hired a court reporter to transcribe the videos.
“You’re here because I want you here,” Cash tells Vaccaro during one of their many trips on JC Unit One, Cash’s tour bus,” You don’t know how many want to ride this bus with me, but Henry, I want you here.”
Through the tales of good times and bad, hilarious and sad, Vaccaro provides and insight into Cash’s character and the contributions they made to each others lives. “He brought out the best in me. He restored my faith in God above and he taught me what was really important in this life, your faith, your character, your family and friends and your compassion for your fellow man,” Vaccaro writes of his friend. This reader expects that Cash would say much the same about his friend.
Henry Vaccaro is a friend of mine. Buy his book here at a $10 discount. Or, go to the book signing on Saturday, March 9, at Silverball Museum Arcade, 1000 Ocean Ave Asbury Park Boardwalk, and buy a signed copy at a $15 discount.
The Daily Callersaid that The Washington Post is confusing one prostitute for another in an attempt to debunk the allegations that Senator Robert Menendez paid for sex in the Dominican Republic last Easter.
DC said that the escort whose affidavit that WaPo obtained is not one of the women that the conservative site interviewed via webcam last year. WaPo also is dealing with a different Dominican lawyer than the one who assisted DC with the story.
New Jersey’s main stream media was slow to report the Menendez prostitution allegations, waiting almost three months from the first report until the story graced their pages. They were extraordinarily quick in reporting the Washington Post story claiming the prostitute faked it…the story was posted on NJ.com less than 1/2 hour after WaPo reported it.
Let’s see how they handle Daily Caller defending the story.
Statement from The Daily Caller:
The Washington Post falsely reported a story yesterday claiming our source had recanted her statement, without contacting The Daily Caller for comment before posting. In reality, the prostitute in the Post’s story does not appear to be one of the women we interviewed in 2012. Details provided by the prostitute identified as Ms. Santana in the Post story conflict with the taped interviews The Daily Caller posted on November 1, including the mention of a person whose name would not come to light for months afterward. In addition, Melanio Figueroa, the attorney for TheDC’s sources, has said the Post’s allegations are fabricated and that the affidavit is false. The Post would not provide TheDC with a copy of the affidavit, despite our request. We stand by our reporting.
Manalaplan Committeeman Don Holland resigned effective yesterday, according to a report in the Manalapan Patch.
Patch cites a press release from Manalpan GOP Chairman Steve McEnery which stated Holland resigned for health reasons. Holland could not be reached this evening.
On December 6, 2012 Holland submitted and later retracted his resignation, according to documentation obtained by MMM and an interview with Holland.
Holland and Mayor Susan Cohen, the Monmouth GOP Vice Chair, are the two Manalapan Committee members who voted to approve the funds to purchase Andrew Lucas’ farm development rights last week.
Holland was first elected to the Township Committee as a Democrat. He switched parties and was reelected as a Republican in 2011. His term is scheduled to expire in December of 2014.
The Manalapan Republican Committee will submit 3 candidates to fill the vacancy within 30 days. The four remaining Committee members will chose one of those three candidates to serve until the November election. The voters will elect a candidate to complete the term.
The Manalpan Township Committee was 5-0 Republican prior to Holland’s resignation. With this vacancy, partisan control of the committee is at play, as the new Committee Member will have to defend the seat and run with incumbents Andrew Lucas and Jordan Maskowitz in November, assuming the incumbents both seek reelection.
One of the Dominican escorts who said she was stiffed by Senator Bob Menendez now says she was paid to read a fabricated script and that in truth she has never met Menendez, according to a Washington Post report. (hat tip Star Ledger)
The woman identified a lawyer who approached her and a friend to make the videotape, according to affidavits obtained by the Post. That man has in turn identified another lawyer who gave him a script for the tape and paid him to find women to fabricate the claims, the affidavits say.
The escort was one of two women who taped videos that seems to support a tipster’s allegations that Menendez had patronized prostitutes while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
FBI agents conducting interviews in the Dominican Republic have found no evidence to back up the tipster’s allegations, according to two people briefed on their work.
Daily Caller, the site that first broke the Menendez prostitution story has yet to report on this latest development. Breitbart, the site that now employs the reporter who broke the story, posted a wire service piece on the escort’s latest claims.
Governor Chris Christie blasted Washington over sequestration and the general state of dysfunction in the national capitol during a press conference at Metropolitan Family Health Network, Women’s Health and Pediatrics Unit in Jersey City this morning.
The Highlands Business Partnership’s 11th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is being dedicated to the borough’s first responders in appreciation for their heroic efforts during Superstorm Sandy.
HBP Vice President Jay Cosgrove of Bahrs Landing said, “We’re proud of our hometown heros,” as he announced that Rebecca Kane, Highlands first female Fire Chief and the borough’s Council President, as the parade’s Grand Marshall. OEM Coordinator Dave Parker is the Deputy Grand Marshall. Highlands First Aid Captain Ray Vargas will be honored with the St. Brendan the Navigator Award.
The parade kickoff from Huddy Park on Saturday March 23 at 2PM. 100 marching units including the Henry Hudson Regional Marching Band and Cheerleaders, the Monmouth County Police & Fire Pipe & Drums, Pipe & Drums Corps from Ocean Middlesex, Union, Essex and Atlantic counties. Old Bridge and Staten Islands Pipe and Drummers will also be marching.
There will be a special guest appearance of spectacular Irish dancers from the Daly Irish Dance School.
The Monmouth County Freeholders did more than fight over Andrew Lucas’ farm last week before voting to approve their portion of the $1.152 million purchase of his development rights.
By a unanimous 5-0 vote the all Republican board introduced a 2013 budget that reduces county spending by $6.3 million. The amount to be raised by property taxes will remain at the 2010 level. Spending is budgeted to be below 2008 levels.
“We continue to face the pressures of increased fixed costs and reduced revenues, but were able to reduce the total budget below 2008 levels and maintain a zero increase to the tax levy,” Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone said. “As has been the case for the past several years, county departments were asked to cut their budget allocation proportionately to help this board reduce the impact on the taxpayers.”
The budget appropriates $481 million in spending. $302,475,000 will be raised from property taxes. The remaining $178.525 million comes from federal and state funds, shared services agreements, and fees.
Freeholder Gary Rich noted that the county has reduced its workforce by 15% since 2008.
The county budget is tentatively scheduled for adoption at 7 p.m. March 28, following a public hearing. The freeholders will make a PowerPoint presentation on the budget March 5 at the Monmouth County Eastern Branch Library, Route 35, Shrewsbury and at 7 p.m. March 19 at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters on Symmes Drive, Manalapan. The public is invited to attend and offer comments.
The Menendez for Senate campaign spent $1812 with the flight tracking website, FlightAware, in December, according to the campaign’s year end report with the Federal Election Commission. (hat tip, The Auditor) The expense was listed as a disbursement for the senator’s 2018 primary campaign.
A Premium+ commercial membership to FlightAware costs $39.95 per month. Perhaps Menendez pre-paid for a 45.36 month subscription? More likely, as The Auditor speculated, Menendez was doing a review of the flights taken on Dr. Salomon Melgen’s private jet. In January of this year Menendez reported that he took two flights on Melgen’s jet in 2010 and belated reimbursed his generous benefactor $58,500 for the luxury travel with personal funds. FlightAware offers custom reports in addition to its monthly subscription service.
Menendez must have a memory problem if he couldn’t remember taking the two private flights. Or maybe he files on lots of private jets. Or maybe Melgen was too busy with the FBI to check his records for Menendez on the exact date and time of the flights. Either way, its good that Menendez got the information in preparation for his 2018 primary campaign.
Menendez is taking the 2018 primary campaign very seriously. In addition to his research in to his own travel habits, the Menendez campaign spent $3,978.73 on T-shirts to secure the nomination in five years, according to the FEC report.
One of the reporters who covered Menendez on his “I don’t need any rehabilitating” press day with school kids as props sent a note to correct this post. The senator’s staff only restricted the questions reporters could ask during a conference call about his trip to Afghanistan. There were no restrictions during the press conference about sequestration at Newark Liberty Airport or while Menendez was reading to the children.
Kudos to the reporters for not asking tough questions about prostitutes, sex with children and the ethics of Menendez’s relationship with Dr. Salomon Melgen during the book readings with kids.
Why the kit gloves during the press conference? The reporter said that Menendez did not allow a lot of time for questions and split right before the press conference ended.
It seems to me that the New Jersey press corp is leaving the heavy lifting regarding Menendez to the national media. At least NJ.com and APP ran today’s Associated Press lengthy story about how Menendez sponsored legislation to help Melgen’s investment in a “green energy” company in addition to the Dominican Republic port security deal.
After hiding out in the bowels of the Capitol and the hills of Afghanistan for most of February, Senator Bob Menendez came out to New Jersey’s press yesterday with school kids as props, according to a Star Ledger report.
The senator’s staff laid out ground rules…no questions about flights to the Dominican Republic on Dr. Salomon Melgen’s private jet and no questions about Senate hearings held specifically for Melgen’s benefit. New Jersey’s mainstream media has never bothers to ask questions about prostitutes or sex with underage Dominican girls. It probably wasn’t necessary to deem such questions off limits. From the Star Ledger’s report, it would seem that all the reporters complied with Menendez’s wish that he not be asked “off-topic” questions. Wouldn’t it be nice if the press corp gave Governor Chris Christie the same courtesy.
Menenedez read House Mouse, Senate Mouseto a group of 15 4-5 years olds at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, held a news conference about sequestration at Newark Liberty Airport, and met another group of school children in Lodi.
Asked whether the senator’s packed schedule was intended to rehabilitate his image at home after a month of harsh news coverage, Menendez bristled and said his appearance with the children was part of “Read Across America Day,” which he has participated in for almost 20 years.
“It’s far from rehabilitating,” said Menendez, who has repeadedly characterized the accusations as part of a smear campaign by right-wing forces. “It’s about being able to go ahead and express to kids the importance of reading,”
“And secondly,” he said, “I don’t think I need any rehabilitating.”
Manalapan GOP Chairman Steve McEnery told MoreMonmouthMusings that Andrew Lucas has chosen not to seek reelection to the Manalapan Township Committee, citing the demands of raising two young children and of building a new house on the farmland to which he just sold the development rights to the taxpayers for $1.152 million.
Manalaplan Committeeman Don Holland resigned effective yesterday, according to a report in the 
to a group of 15 4-5 years olds at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, held a news conference about sequestration at Newark Liberty Airport, and met another group of school children in Lodi.