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CRUISE FROM HELLAfter hundreds got sick on its ship, Royal Caribbean

promised discounts. But the discounts were less

generous than some cruisers believed. AA6

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Asbury Park Press :: Monmouth Edition APP.COM $2.00

VOLUME 135

NUMBER 184

SINCE 1879

ADVICE E11BUSINESS AA6CLASSIFIED D1LOCAL A3LOTTERIES A2

OBITUARIES A16OPINION AA4PUZZLES E9SPORTS C1WEATHER C12

ISRAEL SAYS ITS MISSING SOLDIER WAS KILLED IN BATTLE PAGE 1B

SLEEPCON 2014

EXPERTS OFFER ADVICEON HOW TO GET A GOODNIGHT’S REST. A11

SPORTS

TOMS RIVER WINS, 12-2,AT LITTLE LEAGUEREGIONAL TOURNEY. C1

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ON THE ROAD WITH THE TOMS RIVER LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM IN CONNECTICUT

SPORTS

2%WHY THE

TAX CAP ISN’T REALLY 2%

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Exemptions push property levyhigher in 4 out of 10 N.J. townsUnder a state law adopted in 2010, propertytax levies aren’t allowed to grow more than2 percent a year.

Some cost increases, however, are exemptfrom the cap. Those exclusions include costsfor shared-service agreements, health insur-ance, pension obligations, Length of ServiceAward Programs for volunteer firefightersand first aid organizations, capital improve-ments, debt service and leases, recycling tax-es and emergencies.

Statewide, the average property tax billgrew by 1.3 percent to $7,988 in 2013. Butthe combined tax levy for county, municipaland school services grew by more than 2percent in almost 44 percent of municipal-ities last year. A12

Four people died late Friday into early Saturday. In Long Branch, a woman, 62, and the

girl she cared for, 11, were found dead inside a home, the cause unexplained. In Brick, a

66-year-old woman was found dead after a fire in her home. And in Lakewood, a Howell man,

50, was found dead with a gunshot wound after his minivan crashed into a tree; police are

calling it a homicide. A3

DEADLY NIGHTAT THE SHORE

ERIK LARSEN/STAFF PHOTO

A 66-year-old woman, Grace Merkel, died in a fire at this home on Dock Road in Brick early Saturday. Above, relatives ofMerkel wait to talk to investigators outside the wreckage of the home.

Victims of homicide, fire among four killed