Year in review: February 2015

Fire fighter Pat Breen and Freeholder Lillian Burry inspect the devastation in Ocean Grove. Feb 7, 2015. Photo by Bob Burlew

Fort Monmouth was designated as an Ebola quarantine site.

Mater Dei Prep was slated to close.  The community raised $1 million to save the school.

While in New Hampshire, Governor Chris Christie criticized Governor Maggie Hassan for appearing to be more focused on running for her next job than on governing the state she was elected to lead.

Christine Giordano Hanlon was nominated to replace M.Claire French as Monmouth County Clerk.

Locals remembered Brian Williams’ early exaggerations.

A fire destroyed four businesses and seven apartments in Ocean Grove.

In reaction to 50 Shades of Grey, Tommy DeSeno wrote that sex is the same for everyone, like eating, and that we shouldn’t talk about it so much.

Belmar’s Home By Summer campaign raised $50K in two weeks to assist the last two borough residents who were displaced by Hurricane Sandy get back into their homes.

The year in review: 2015

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Year in review: January 2015

JANUARY

In Atlantic Highlands, an ongoing rift within the local GOP became public when Republican Councilman Lou Fligor nominated Democrat Roy Dellosso to be Council President, catching Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, who was on hand to swear in Republicans Jack Archibald and Peter Doyle in to their new council terms, off guard.

Archibald and Fligor went on to a primary fight to replace retiring Mayor Fred Rast at the GOP standard bearer. Archibald beat Fligor in June but lost badly to Democrat  in November Rhonda “Randi” Le Grice and turned over control of the borough’s government to the Democrats.

Mike Halfacre started the year taking the Polar Bare Plunge in Asbury Park and ended the year with two new jobs.

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Keansburg Man Convicted Of Armed Robbery, Kidnapping While Impersonating A Cop

Steven P. Rinck

Steven P. Rinck, 49, of Seabreeze Way in Keansburg has spent the past four Christmases in jail.  Given his conviction returned by a Monmouth County jury this week, he is likely to spend the next twenty Christmases locked up as well.

On October 21, 2012 Rinck gained entry to a to a Seeley Ave home by claiming he was a NJ State Police Trooper armed with a handgun and a search warrant.  He stole cash and drugs from the male resident and a friend with bad timing who arrived during the robbery.

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WWII Vet Gets His Medals

Bob Williams, grandson of Alfred Caponigro, Caponigro and Congressman Chris Smith

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Alfred Caponigro of Ocean Township would not accept the medals he earned in combat during World War II because of all of the other Americans who didn’t make it back, or who lost limbs and other injuries.  Caponigro lost his hearing in the war and was discharged with a 100 percent disability rating by the Navy.

On Tuesday Caponigro, 90, joined by his family and friends, accepted his medals from Congressman Chris Smith, 73 years after he earned them.

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Jon Bon Jovi, Bobby Bandiera and Friends present a night of Hope in Red Bank (Video)

The eighth Hope Concerts, organized by Bobby Bandiera, took place at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank Wednesday night. I’ve heard Jon Bon Jovi sing “Bad Medicine” in concert countless times over the last 30 years. But I felt like I was hearing it for the first time Wednesday night at the Count Basie Theatre… Read the rest of this entry »

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Landmark Jersey Shore hotel employee stole $7K from newlyweds, police say

ASBURY PARK — An employee of a landmark beachfront hotel was arrested Tuesday after she stole more than $7,000 from newlywed couples on several occasions, police said. Stacey Gilman, 36, of Asbury Park, entered hotel rooms at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel on Ocean Avenue three times between Dec. 4 and 13, said acting police Chief Anthony… Read the rest of this entry »

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Greg’s List: Things to do in Monmouth County this holiday week: December 25, 2015-January 3, 2016

This is our last list of things to do in Monmouth County of 2015 and our first of 2016, with activities listed throughout the week.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous 2016.  ~Art

By Greg Kelly

Courtesy of Teddy Bears by the Shore

Friday, December 25

• Merry Christmas

Saturday, December 26

• Guild of Creative Art ‘15 All-Member Holiday Exhibit (Shrewsbury) – MORE INFO
• Beautiful Childhood Portraits Exhibit (Freehold) – MORE INFO
• 19th Century New Jersey Chairmaking Exhibit (Freehold) – MORE INFO
• Black Suburbia at The Saint (Asbury Park) – MORE INFO

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Halfacre named Executive Director of NJ Beer Wholesalers Association

Michael I. Halfacre

Michael I. Halfacre, the former Director of the NJ Division Alcoholic Beverage Control, has been named the Executive Director of the Beer Wholesalers Association of New Jersey, effective January 4, 2016.  He will remain Of Counsel to Genova Burns, the law firm he joined upon leaving the ABC last summer.  Halfacre is replacing Robert J. Pinard, who is retiring after directing the trade association since 1992.

“Michael Halfacre brings an outstanding record as a legal professional, as well as his regulatory background, that will be vital to leading the Beer Wholesalers Association of New Jersey,” said Mark Kramer, President of Kramer Beverage and Chairman of the associations Executive Committee.

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Two Monmouth Drug Dealers Sentenced On Federal Charges

Tyshon Young, a/k/a “Young Money,” a/k/a “Young Boy,” 30, of Asbury Park, and Matthew Miller, a/k/a “Star,” 41, of Neptune, were sentenced to 21 and 36 months in prison, respectively today by U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing heroin and cocaine throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Young and Miller previously pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan to separate informations charging them with one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.

Miller has been in federal custody since his March 2014 arrest and has thus already served more than half of the sentence imposed by Judge Sheridan today, according to Fishman’s spokesman William Skaggs.   Young was in custody for roughly a month before making his $100,000 bail in early May of 2014, Skaggs said in a phone interview.

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Athletic standout killed in Asbury Park shooting was a ‘shining star’

ASBURY PARK — Jamar Small had defied the odds that were stacked against him — until he was gunned down Sunday on a city street in broad daylight. The 24-year-old from Asbury Park had just earned a degree in business administration from Texas Southern University where he also played on the football team. Small was on… Read the rest of this entry »

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