Is a Local Winery a Farm?

Seven Bridges Road winery seeks agricultural board approval; Owner says there will only be two or three visitors a day.

After two informal meetings with the town to get feedback on plans to add features to his property, the owner of a 15-acre vineyard along Seven Bridges Road, Little Silver, has turned to the county for an okay instead. Richard DeBlasi, who has owned the property at 647 Seven Bridges Road for more than 30 years, is attempting to qualify the site as a commercial farm under the Right to Farm Act and needs approval from the county agricultural board, according to Little Silver Mayor Robert C. Neff, Jr. Famland assessed properties do not pay standard taxes, but a farmland assessment, which is substantially lower than municipal taxes. In order to qualify for farmland assessment, a property owner must own a minimum of five acres and show proof of…

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Hurricane Sandy

Christie, Springsteen and Bon Jovi: Perfect Together?

The governor gives kudos to the two rock stars for helping with Hurricane Sandy recovery, politics aside.

The Rumson-Fair Haven shore area is known as the land of Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Springsteen has a home in Rumson and Bon Jovi lives in the Navesink section of Middletown. Both are known to show up to support many a cause in the area, including Democratic political campaigns. Neither one has supported Republican Gov. Chris Christie. And Christie is an openly avid Boss fan. But, the two rockers have set politics aside to pool resources to save the Jersey Shore and have been appointed by Christie's wife, Mary Pat, to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund Advisory Board.  Bon Jovi came to Sea Bright to see the progress with Sea Bright Rising's tent/food city in the wake of Sandy. The governor has made several stops to Sea Bright as …

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Bon Jovi, Navesink Burglar Sentenced to Prison

The following information was obtained directly from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

The man who has been unofficially dubbed the Bon Jovi burglar has been handed a prison sentence for a string of burglaries and jewelry thefts from Navesink homes. Nicholas Tracy, 22, of Beachwood, was sentenced to five years in prison today in connection with those residential burglaries that resulted in the loss of more than $300,000 in jewelry and other personal items, Acting Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced in a press release. The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Ronald L. Reisner, J.S.C., and related to three residential break-ins in the Navesink section of Middletown, including, among others, the home of Jon Bon Jovi. The charges arose from an investigation conducted by the Middletown Police Department involving a …

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Accused Bon Jovi Burglar Pleads Guilty

Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor says Nicholas Tracy stole more than $300,000 worth of jewelry and other items from Bon Jovi's Navesink River Road home as well as others

  A man pleaded guilty today to committing a string of residential burglaries at the home of rocker Bon Jovi, among others in the Navesink section of Middletown, that resulted in the loss of more than $300,000 in jewelry and other personal items, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced. Nicholas Tracy, 22, of Beachwood, appeared before the Honorable Ronald L. Reisner, J.S.C. and entered pleas of guilty to charges related to each burglary. Specifically, Tracy pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, each graded as second-degree crimes, and a count of burglary, a third-degree crime. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the defendant is to be sentenced to five years imprisonment in New Jersey State Prison. …

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Pasta with a Side of Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi's father debuts three styles of his new pasta sauce brand

Ever wanted a taste of Bon Jovi? You're in luck. Rocker and philanthropist Jon Bon Jovi's father has released a line of tomato sauces under the family's real last name, Bongiovi, in three different styles, according to the brand's website, marinara, arrabiata and garden style. "Passed down three generations, the Bongiovi family recipe originated in the town of Sciacca, Sicily in the late 1800s," this according to the Bongiovi sauce website. "When Great Grandma Bongiovi would prepare the sauce, she made enough to feed the neighborhood. This tradition was passed to her son, which was then passed to his son and then passed again to his three sons in America." Considering the sauces' rich legacy, it's likely that you're favorite singer, the …

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