Plans pitched for lot across from Rick’s Saddle Shop BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer       UPPER FREEHOLD — A new bank and drugstore, along with new medical offices, may soon pop up along Route 539. The Planning Board reviewed conceptual plans for the commercial development called Cream Ridge Concepts at its Dec. 14 meeting. Planner/engineer Mark Shourds, of Medford, unveil... More ... Another fast-food stop planned for Route 539 Business would serve paninis, wraps and salads BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer       UPPER FREEHOLD — A new take-out eatery may soon be coming to town. At the Planning Board’s Dec. 14 meeting, the board approved a site plan waiver for a business described by its owners as an upscale fast-food take-out enterprise. Board member Doug Raynor voted against granting the w... More ... Twp. pushes alternative septic issue into next year BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer       UPPER FREEHOLD — After months of discussion, the township’s Board of Health has still not decided whether it should support an ordinance permitting the use of alternative septic systems. Although the board’s attorney said it is too late in the year to move forward with an ordinance th... More ... Legislature grants gay couples civil union rights BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer       TRENTON — Same-sex couples in New Jersey will now have access to all the legal rights and responsibilities heterosexual couples possess, except for the right to call their relationship “marriage. More ... Millstone paves way for new warehouse project Arsenic at site would be blended with clean soil and/or capped BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer       MILLSTONE — Plans for a warehouse complex along Route 33 have received preliminary approval. The Planning Board granted preliminary approval for the nine-lot commercial subdivision at its Dec. 13 meeting. A group called 33 Associates owns Riverside Center, the name of the prop... More ... Gas-to-energy operation captures design award       FREEHOLD — The gas-to-energy facility located at the Monmouth County Reclamation Center, Tinton Falls, has been awarded Project of the Year (power category) by the New York Tri-State Metro Chapter of the Design-Build Institute of America. More ... Offering a peaceful respite, sharing a historic property Couple renovates Waln family home into bed and breakfast BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer       The drive to PeaceFields Inn in Upper Freehold is lined with grapevines growing at the winery, horses grazing and frolicking in green pastures and farmers tending to their livelihoods on miles and miles of farmland. The long, circular drive that surrounds the inn like a moat is surr... More ... Upper Freehold’s Breza Road zoning hangs in the balance BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer       UPPER FREEHOLD — With a 9-1 vote on Dec. 14, the Planning Board put an official end to the Rockefeller Group’s plan to build warehouses on Breza Road. The New York City-based developer had plans to construct 1.8 million square feet of warehouse/office space on a 254-acre tract on Brez... More ... Indictment alleges bribes paid by firm’s founder Federal investigators say Schoor DePalma has cooperated in probe       NEWARK — The founding member of a major New Jersey civil engineering company was indicted Dec. 14, accused of paying bribes to former Ocean Township Mayor Terrence Weldon and another former official to gain favor and influence in securing and maintaining contracts for the engineering firm, ... More ... Looking into the mind of the creator The Eleanor Gallery hosts first-ever showing of Mueller’s schemas BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer       ROOSEVELT — To see Robert E. Mueller’s schemas is to get a glimpse into what the mind that creates snowflakes must be like. Mueller, a Roosevelt resident and artist who is widely known for his woodcuts that are charged with social commentary, has a lesser known artistic endeavor tha... More ...