Jury acquits Long Branch man of felony murder, robbery

FREEHOLD – A Long Branch man was released from jail Monday, days after a jury acquitted him in the 2011 killing of an Asbury Park man. Joshua Simmons, 27, was acquitted Friday of felony murder, armed robbery, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to his attorney Carlos Diaz-Cobo.… Read the rest of this entry »

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Christie nominates Hanlon as Monmouth County Clerk

Christine Giordano Hanlon and Monmouth County Clerk M. Claire French at the Assembly Republicans event in Atlantic City, February 2, 2015. photo by Art Gallagher

Governor Chris Christie has nominated Christine Giordano Hanlon, Esq., to replace M. Claire French as Monmouth County Clerk.

French, who has served as Clerk since 1997 and been elected four times, announced her retirement effective in March last month. Her term was scheduled to expire at the end of 2017.

Hanlon, of Ocean Township, is an attorney at Archer & Greiner’s Middletown, NJ office.  She serves as Deputy Borough Attorney in Tinton Falls, Prosecutor in Atlantic Highlands and as a Commissioner of the Monmouth County Board of Elections.  A member of Christie’s transition team in 2009, Hanlon is also Vice Chair of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

Hanlon’s nomination is subject to confirmation by the State Senate.  It is expected that Hanlon will be nominated to run for a full five year term by the Monmouth GOP and stand for election in November.

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Long time Red Bank resident questions Brian Williams’ Christmas mugging story

RED BANK —A long time Red Bank resident questioned the veracity of Brian Williams’ claim that as he a teenager he was mugged while selling Christmas trees in the borough. Danny Murphy said he has trouble believing the ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor’s recollections, including to two magazines, because of the low crime rate in a small… Read the rest of this entry »

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Monmouth County offering free measles vaccine

The Monmouth County Health Department will offer a free measles vaccine clinic for Monmouth County residents on Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 9 a.m. to noon at their office located at 3435 Highway 9, Freehold.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat, and is followed by a rash that spreads all over the body. About three out of 10 people who get measles will develop one or more complications including pneumonia, ear infections, or diarrhea. Complications are more common in adults and young children.

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Christianity, The Crusades, and the President

By Joe Schilp

Crosses lining the American Cemetery at Normandy

This past week, during the National Prayer Breakfast, Barack Obama made absolutely offensive remarks that seemed to justify the barbaric acts of the Islamic Jihadist terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who have beheaded and burned alive prisoners from all over the world, by comparing ISIS’s form of Jihad to Christian behavior during the Crusades.  The remarks to which I am referring:

“lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.”

While I’ve read extensively about our nation’s history, slavery, and the Reconstruction, I can’t recall where anyone justified slavery in the name of Christ.  In fact, American slavery is rooted in African slavery, which had been practiced in Africa for centuries before Europeans were even aware of it.  And European involvement in slavery began when Islamic Jihadists invaded Europe and enslaved Christians just prior to the Crusades.  Further, slavery is still practiced today in Africa and much of slavery’s history in eastern Africa is centered around Islam, but this president speaks solely to divide America, facts be damned.

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Death in the water tank: nightmarish case remains unsolved 10 years later

It was ink-black in the vast underground water tank. And biting cold. The only escape, a panel in the ceiling, loomed 5 feet above the water level, far too high to reach. Worse, there was no ladder. In that frigid subterranean cavern at the Passaic Valley Water Commission in Totowa, Geetha Angara — scientist, wife and… Read the rest of this entry »

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Correction: U.S. Attorney has not opened new Christie investigation into Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office

Governor Chris Christie at Long Branch press conference, August , 2014 photo by Art Gallagher

Contrary to published reports, including one here at MMM, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman’s office has not opened a new criminal investigation into Governor Chris Christie’s role, if any, in quashing the prosecution of former Hunterdon County Sheriff Deborah Trout.

The initial inaccurate report was published by International Business Times, a content partner of MMM through repubHub.  MMM published the IBT story after noticing it was being cited by other news outlets.

On Friday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show published a report that included a denial from the U.S. Attorney’s office that it is investigating Christie over the Trout issue. (h/t SaveJersey)

“Any characterization that we are investigating the Governor about this is just not true … . [W]e talk to people all the time. It doesn’t mean we’re investigating anybody.”

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New Jersey’s oyster madness: Reefs rise in NY while N.J. ban continues

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Chris Christie And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

WASHINGTON — There are 49 weeks left until Iowa holds its caucus — which is good for Chris Christie, because he needs time to recover from this past week. His trip to London drew attention for all the wrong reasons, spotlighting his love for creature comforts and raising questions about funding. He sounded off about vaccines… Read the rest of this entry »

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Ocean Grove fire reduces building to rubble

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

The Starving Artist at Days, 47 Olin Street, Ocean Grove, 732-988-1007, is accepting donations of money, food and clothing for those displaced by the fire. 

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