Officials call for query into plans to close fort Angelini: Army officials concealed cost of closure BY DANIEL HOWLEY, MELISSA KARSH & JENNA O'DONNELL Staff Writers       Agroup of Assembly members from Monmouth County are claiming that the decision to close Fort Monmouth was based on false and misleading information. More ...       Ocean Township pitcher Carissa Van Dyke winds up for a pitch to a Freehold Borough hitter during the April 26 game at Freehold Borough High School. More ... Thomas says not guilty of 'homophobic' remarks Long Branch mayor asks Planning Bd. member to step down BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer       After being accused of making "homophobic" comments at a public meeting, Long Branch Planning Board Vice Chairman Edward Thomas said he will not be resigning from the seat he has served on for more than two decades. More ... 'Weekend in Old Monmouth' features tour of historic sites       Monmouth County's first "Weekend in Old Monmouth" historic tour will open the doors of 32 local historic sites all at the same time- from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. onMay 3 and from noon to 5 p.m. on May 4. "Independent and local historic sites are generally operated independently of one another," said M... More ... Boro to offer comments on reuse plan for fort Eatontown to establish ad hoc committee to evaluate FMERPA plan BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer       EATONTOWN- Borough officials have 60 days to evaluate the preliminary Fort Monmouth reuse plan before they submit comments to the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA) for review. More ... Three towns team up for weekend tour of the area TriCity Arts Tour comes to Long Branch, Red Bank and Asbury Park BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer       LONG BRANCH - A group of area arts, business and entertainment organizations have joined forces to bring the "TriCity Arts Tour" to the Long Branch, Red Bank and Asbury Park communities. More ... Mother's Day gift benefits Spring House Brendan Dibble, 16, helps raise funds for Monmouth County moms BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer       EATONTOWN - Every year when Mother's Day approaches, children and husbands rush to stores to buy a variety of gifts ranging from cards to flowers to candy. More ... Ocean advocates seek to block LNG facilities Groups rally against proposed LNG facilities off the Jersey coast BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer       SEA BRIGHT- Local environmentalists have drawn a line in the sand and continue to voice their opposition on proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facilities off the coast. More ... Long Branch calls for 4.9-cent tax rate hike       LONG BRANCH - The average city homeowner will be paying $2,784 in taxes annually if the City Council adopts its proposed $45 million municipal spending plan next month. The council introduced the municipal budget onApril 22 and set the public hearing on the spending plan for May 27. More ... Ocean man pleads guilty to hit-and-run fatality Timothy Napolitano, 30, faces 5 years behind bars for 2007 incident       OCEAN TOWNSHIP - A township man is facing five years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to a hit-and-run last year that resulted in the death of an 84- year-old woman. On April 21, Timothy Napolitano Jr. More ... Boro seeks replacement for retired police capt. BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer       EATONTOWN - The Borough Council is currently searching for a police captain to replace Capt. Jerome Brady, who retired on March 31 from the position he held for three decades. More ... 'School's Out, Now What?'       Long Branch's Dayshawn Solamon, 5, creates his own art at the Long Branch Library during the Long Branch Concordance's, "School's Out for Summer, Now What?" mini-fair. More ... Nonprofit to hold Community Awareness Meeting       The All Neighbors Foundation (ANF) in Long Branch is scheduled to present the Community Awareness Meeting on May 12 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Long Branch Brookdale Community College on Broadway. More ... Enrollment triples for CYMCA program Black/Hispanic Achievers participate in volleyball fundraiser BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer       RED BANK - Enrollment for the Community YMCA's Black/Hispanic Achievers Initiative has tripled in its second consecutive year in the Red Bank area. The program returned to the CYMCA during the 2006-2007 school year with 13 participants after a nine-year hiatus in the area, according to CYMCA Di... More ... Boro asks state, feds to halt bridge project Sea Bright calls on Corzine, N.J. & U.S. attorneys to act BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer       Sea Bright officials are taking their case to have the Highlands Bridge construction project halted to state and federal officials. Mayor Maria Fernandes announced at the April 15 council meeting that she has sent letters to Gov. More ... Boro celebrates Arbor Day       West Long Branch residents and members of the Borough Shade Tree Commission gathered at Franklin Lake Park on April 26 for Arbor Day festivities. The event was part of the borough's yearlong Centennial Celebration. More ... Local man arrested for stealing tools from Sears       OCEAN TOWNSHIP - An Asbury Park man is under arrest after township police received reports that he was allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars worth of tools from a Sears department store. At approximately 11:54 a.m. More ...