Stephanie Murray resigns as Middletown Mayor

Stephanie Murray

Stephanie Murray resigned as mayor of Middletown Township this afternoon in a hand delivered letter to the Township Clerk.  Her resignation from the Township Committee is effective immediately, MMM has learned.

Murray cited her increased job responsibilities in her letter.  She became the part time Borough Administrator of West Long Branch last summer and was promoted to full time administrator earlier this year.

Once considered a rising star in Monmouth County political circles, Murray’s prospects for higher office took a hit in 2016 after the Asbury Park Press wrote an inaccurate and incomplete story about her family’s financial difficulties.  Never-the-less, Murray was overwhelmingly reelected by Middletown voters last November and was selected to serve as mayor this year by her colleagues on the Township Committee.

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BPU unanimously rejects JCP&L’s Monster Lines project

RAGE leaders, in Trenton, celebrate the BPU’s decision to nix JCPL’s Monmouth Monster Power Line Project

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities unanimously denied  Jersey Central Power and Light’s ‘Monmouth Reliability Project,’ according to Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley who is in Trenton for the BPU meeting.

“This is a great victory for all of the grassroots activists of RAGE (Residents Against Giant Electric), and all of the government officials who fought together through a complex and arduous legal process to produce the right result for Monmouth County residents who live along NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line,” Kiley said. Read the rest of this entry »

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Hanlon certifies Curley’s nominating petition

Disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley survived a challenge to his nominating petitions for reelection, according to a letter from Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon dated June 13, which was obtained by MMM via OPRA request.

After noticing irregularities in the Curley petitions, Monmouth County Republican Chairman, Sheriff Shaun Golden, submitted a formal challenge to the petitions requesting that Hanlon’s staff review the signatures before certifying Curley’s candidacy for Freeholder as an Independent.

Hanlon found that over 120 signatures were invalid because the signers were not registered to vote in Monmouth County or the signature on the petition did not match the signature in the state voter records.  The censured freeholder still has over 100 valid signatures, making his overall petition valid.

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Mike’s Bikes Owner Killed By Drunk Driver

Drunk Brooklyn dentist was driving on the wrong side of the highway

Michael Gustafson, 66, the owner of Mike’s Bikes Shop at Route 36 and Ave D in Atlantic Highlands, was pronounced dead early Saturday morning at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, following a motor vehicle crash that occurred at the Middletown/Highlands border on Route 36, according to a statement by Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Anthony F. Sarlo, 62, a dentist from Brooklyn was driving a 2015 Jeep Cherokee westbound in the eastbound lane of Route 36 when he crashed into Gustafson who was driving eastbound in a 2017 Honda Fit at approximately 12:46 a.m.  Both the Highlands and Middletown Police Departments responded to the crash, according to a Highlands law enforcement source.  The Middletown PD handled the initial investigation.

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Greg’s List: Things to Do in Monmouth County This Weekend, June 22-24, 2018

By Greg Kelly

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Friday, June 22

• St. Leo the Great Carnival (Lincroft) – MORE INFO
• Seining on Sandy Hook Bay – MORE INFO
• Mercy by NJ Repertory Company (Long Branch) – MORE INFO
• “The Fantasticks” at Monmouth U. (WLB) – MORE INFO
• In the Heights at Count Basie Theatre (Red Bank) – MORE INFO
• Comedian David Cross at Paramount Theatre (Asbury Park) – MORE INFO
• “Cirque Italia” Water Circus (Freehold) – MORE INFO
• “The Little Mermaid” by Premier Theatre (Holmdel) – MORE INFO
• Songbird at Two River Theater (Red Bank) – MORE INFO

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Art G discusses the Trenton Budget Circus with Tommy G this afternoon

The budget battle is Trenton is heating up as Governor Phil Murphy is threatening to shut down the government if the legislature doesn’t give him all the tax increases he wants.  Democrats and Republicans in the legislature are talking to each other in preparation of a possible override of Murphy’s threatened veto.  Former Governor Chris Christie is in the mix!

The Trenton budget circus is wilder than it has been since..well since last June when the government shut down while Christie went to the beach.

MMM publisher Art Gallagher will be on the Tommy G Show live this afternoon at 4:06 to give Tommy’s listeners an update on the shenanigans. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sheriff Golden, Freeholders, Call On Trenton To Stop Ripping Off 9-1-1 Fees

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Lillian Burry were joined by a bi-partisan group of municipal elected officials, as well as public safety officers, at the County Public Safety Center in Freehold this morning where they called upon Governor Phil Murphy and the State Legislature to restore the $.90 monthly tax on every cell phone line to its intended purpose…the funding of New Jersey’s 192 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Read the rest of this entry »

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Congressman Chris Smith gives future military leaders a fitting sendoff

Neptune Township– Congressman Chris Smith recognized ten extraordinary students and celebrated their appointments to a United States military service academy yesterday afternoon during a ceremony and reception honoring the future cadets and midshipmen, and their families, at the Monmouth County Clerk’s satellite office.

Capt. Pierre A. Fuller, Commanding Officer of Naval Weapons Station Earle, joined Rep. Smith in congratulating the young men and women who are embarking on four years of rigorous training to prepare them to lead in the United States military.

The students will embark on their military careers at the end of June or in early July, depending upon which academy they are attending, with a 6-7 week intensive basic training regimen during which their physical, emotional and mental limits will be pushed as they transition from civilian to military life. Read the rest of this entry »

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Congressman Smith urges Senate to pass legislation combating opioid crisis

Congressman Chris Smith

Congressman Chris Smith today called upon his colleagues in the U.S. Senate to take swift action on a series of bills that passed this House this week which boost the federal response to the opioid crisis with support for  victims and service providers.

The legislation passed this weeks targets $3.3 billion in funding that was part of the 2018 omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Trump earlier this year.

“As the opioid epidemic continues to proliferate, our efforts to treat and prevent this disease at the federal level must be redoubled,” Smith said. “This crisis requires a more aggressive and comprehensive response to the problem, which is exactly what this package of bills will accomplish. The Senate needs to pass this legislation as quickly as possible—the severity of the crisis demands it.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Holmdel Man Charged With Arson, Weapons Offenses

Leonard J. Mazzarisi, III, 29, former of Burgandy Rd in Holmdel is charged with two counts of second degree Aggravated Arson, second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, third degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, and third degree Criminal Mischief, according to an announcement by Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Mazzarisi was arrested at a hotel in Fredericksburg, Virginia on May 30, 2018 on outstanding warrants on these charges and held in the custody of  the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford, Virginia until he was extradited back to New Jersey on June 12, 2018. He is currently held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold, pending his detention hearing on Tuesday, June 29.

He is accused of setting fire to the  Neuhaus Realty Agency office at 51 Main Street in the township on August  19, 2017 and again on January 27, 2018. Read the rest of this entry »

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