Long Branch resident Warren West saw his belongings go up in flames when his Brighton Avenue apartment � along with part of the block � burned in February.�Everything I ever had, pretty much,� said West, 36, describing the scope of the loss. �The only thing I had was the stuff in my car. Everything else is gone, so you start all over.�The Feb. 13 fire raced through three buildings in Long Branch�s west end, destroying 14 apartments and 10 businesses.Somewhere among the ashes and debris was West�s furniture and clothes. His girlfriend�s belongings were destroyed too. Other losses include three pieces of property belonging to Comcast Cable: a high-definition digital video recorder box, a digital cable box and a cable modem.Now West, a bartender, has ... Continue reading →

The home page for Monmouth County and Ocean County, NJ: breaking and in-depth local news, sports, business, obituaries, multimedia, databases, weather, Jersey Shore events, classifieds and more. Continue reading →

Haven�t received your wristband for the Bamboozle music festival yet?Concert organizers said they are on the way. But they say that people may end up having to go to the on-site box office to pick them up.�If you purchased your wristband online before May 8th and have NOT received it yet, it IS on the way,� Bamboozle said on its Facebook page Tuesday.�However, if you have not received it by Thursday evening (sorry for cutting it close) or if travel plans require you to leave for Asbury Park before receiving your wristband, please get here as planned and we WILL take care of you at our on-site Box Office will call.�Live Nation, which is promoting the festival, blamed �an unfortunate shipping delay between the wristband ... Continue reading →

ASBURY PARK — �Sorry, we�re sold out� is the refrain at local hotels just days before a tidal wave of Bamboozle concertgoers will flood the city.For months now, fans across the country � and outside it � have been grabbing up hotel rooms in the city. Anyone coming to Bamboozle who does not have a bed at this point likely will be hard-pressed to find one � unless they are willing to pay top dollar.Robert Hilton, the executive director of the Jersey Shore Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Monday that most of the 4,800 hotel rooms in Monmouth County were booked, and he was directing visitors to Seaside Heights and elsewhere and urging them to take the train to the festival.A quick check of local ... Continue reading →

Manchester resident Anne Meluso got hit with a shocker when she was recently told about a balance on her AmeriGas Propane bill.On a budget payment plan for more than two decades, Meluso said she has paid $198 a month for the propane she needs to heat her Whiting home where she lives with her husband Anthony.In January, company representatives told her her bill was paid. She made her payments for February and March as well.But several weeks ago, Meluso, 80, was told she had a balance of $915. A customer service representative told her she has to pay $183.50 extra each month to pay off the balance and faced having her gas turned off. Meluso said she was taken off the budget billing process by ... Continue reading →