The Asbury Park Historical Society will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to develop a plan of action for recovering a historic set of panels.  The panels, pictured above, reportedly went missing from Convention Hall last year. Boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette reported the 34 panels stolen from Convention Hall, said Celia Morrissette Johnson, president of the [...]

The board of education was especially divided over one issue during budget discussions this week — the color of the new football field’s Astro Turf. After two close votes, the board determined it would not expend an extra $45,000 on a blue field. Instead, the board approved next year’s $66 million budget, which allocates $825,000 [...]

With the Florida shooting death of Trayvon Martin as a backdrop, a crowd of over 300 demonstrators for social justice and racial unity gathered on the steps of the city post office this evening, as various community leaders addressed the throng. The event was initiated by a Freehold student using a Facebook page, according to Asbury Park Mayor Ed Johnson, [...]

The Board of Education last night approved the 2012-2013 school budget after almost three hours of deliberation. The spending plan bears a 2-percent tax levy increase — the highest increase the state permits without a referendum. The operating budget for next year is $66,651,301, of which $6,253,002 will be raised through local taxation. Tuition from [...]

Twenty-eight vintage 1930s copper exterior panels that once hung on the side of Convention Hall have been stolen, according to officials of boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette. The panels — pictured in the photo above — hung below the second-floor windows of the hall. The estimated loss exceeds $100,000, according to a Madison Marquette official. Meanwhile, a [...]

It’s spring cleaning time at Deal Lake. The Friends of Deal Lake will hold an annual cleanup on Saturday, March 31. Since the early 1980s, the group has advocated for government assistance to clean the waterway and promoted awareness of how the public’s actions can impact the lake’s environment. The five fingers of Deal Lake [...]

The owner of a successful Emory Street hair salon has found himself locked out of Cookman Avenue, with a lack of client parking to boot. Steven Statland, owner of Chop Chop Bang Bang, recently sought a move to Cookman, but zoning rules allow only retail, theaters, bars and eateries on that busy main drag. The planning [...]

The Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce bites into the city’s culinary scene with its inaugural “Restaurant Tour 2012: Destination Asbury Park” event featuring 25 food establishments. The tour, scheduled for Sunday, April 29, from 12-4 pm, will feature small “bites” and sampling experiences at restaurants, lounges, juice bars and bakeries throughout the city. Restaurant Tour wristbands will be sold in [...]

A typical council meeting last Wednesday erupted into a passionate discussion of the city’s recent increase in gun violence. Citizens’ comments included suggestions on how to help, as well as a few barbs. Asbury resident Myra Campbell suggested the code enforcement and police departments work together to reduce blight in the city.

A dilapidated Cookman Avenue building that once housed two long-closed entertainment venues is expected to be demolished within 60 days. The structure was last the home of the Club Phoenix, a go-go rock bar open for about a decade until the late 1990s. Previously, the building had housed the Odyssey gay nightclub from the early [...]