ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

APP.COM $2.00

Longtime state Sen. Joseph A. Palaia dies at 89. STORY, 3A

Running on empty?

SUNDAY 08.21.16

Monmouth Park spirals as

revenues, purses fall. 1C

DAY 15 | 2016 OLYMPICS

CHECK OUT COMPLETE COVERAGE INSIDE
Read all about the days events, Page 1B and in SPORTS

Property tax
rebates elusive:
3 reasons that
will make you cry
SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA

Remember those property tax relief checks? For the

vast majority of New Jerseyans, its a fleeting memory
as Trenton slashed by 78 percent the direct infusion into
taxpayers checkbooks in the past seven years.
And as there is less money, there are also fewer
homeowners qualifying for the rebate checks. Homestead rebates went to fewer than half of the people last
year than in 2007, the last year before more than $1 billion in cuts was implemented.
Ed Herr remembers getting a property tax rebate
for his Oceanport home at some point in past years. He
clearly recalls the check that came in the mail each fall.
But then that check became a credit that knocked
dollars off of his local tax, and, well, soon after, the confusion started. Its been a while since Herr, 75, has dug
through documents to look up how much his state income tax-funded homestead rebate is.
I think I do get something, he said. But no, Im not
See REBATES, Page 4A

beachedition
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE DOWN THE SHORE

U.S. WOMEN WIN

GOLD ON COURT

Antique cars roll into Allaire

One of the largest antique car shows returns to the Historic
Village at Allaire today. Hundreds of antique cars, trucks and
motorcycles will be revving their engines and lining the streets
of the village. The show runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Top: The dominant U.S. womens basketball team won a sixth

consecutive Olympic gold medal
in impressive fashion, routing
Spain 101-72 on Saturday.
Left: Neymar buried the final
penalty kick and host country
Brazil won its first-ever Olympic

Acoustic Sundays
Enjoy your Sunday with the relaxing
strings of acoustic music by Allison
Stella at Bayview Park in Long Beach
Township. The show begins at noon.

mens soccer gold medal with a

5-4 shootout following a 1-1
draw with Germany.

PHOTOS BY AFP/GETTY IMAGES (TOP) AND ASSOCIATED PRESS (ABOVE)

Gymnast Simone Biles chosen as the Team

USA flag bearer for tonights Olympics
closing ceremony. STORY, 1B

Journey to
Neverland
The 2015 movie Pan, an
alternative origin story of
Peter Pan and Captain
Hook, screens tonight at
8:30 p.m. on the beach in
Seaside Heights.

All this and more inside! 2A

Wall teens organs saved five lives

JERRY CARINO@NJHOOPSHAVEN

Luke Bautista was a giver.

He was one of those kids who always held the
door for you, who always asked if you had a nice day,
his dad, Chris Bautista, said. He loved making everybody laugh.
In May, after his tragic death at the age of 15, the
Wall High School freshman gave the ultimate gift:
five of his organs, saving the lives of five strangers.
On Mothers Day, his mom, myself and (older
brother) C.J. are sitting in a funeral home, planning
@ISSUE
BUSINESS
CLASSIFIED
LOCAL
LOTTERIES

1AA
6AA
1D
3A
2A

OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
SUNDAY BEST
WEATHER

his funeral, and the parents of a 14-year-old boy in

New York are celebrating because that boy got
Lukes heart, Chris Bautista said. It was the only
thing keeping us going.

Astounding impact
According to NJ Sharing Network, a nonprofit organ procurement organization based in Union County, there are 5,000 New Jerseyans awaiting organ
See ORGANS, Page 13A
14A
4AA
1C
1E
12C

VOLUME 137
NUMBER 200
SINCE 1879