On an autumn afternoon of cool temperatures, the 75th annual Red Bank Halloween Parade drew hundreds of costumed celebrants for its 75th smile-provoking tromp march down Broad Street Sunday.
Check out redbankgreen‘s photos from the parade, and one longtime celebrant’s memories, below.
The weather outlook appears ideal for Sunday’s 75th annual Halloween Parade, a delightfully frightful stroll through downtown Red Bank. More →
Dreamers Club executive committee members Selena Martinez-Santiago, Madelyn Sanchez-Berra and Bethzy Vera Varela looked on as president Edith Lozano Zane addressed the RBR board on September 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
UPDATE: Because of rain in the forecast, this Saturday’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration in Riverside Gardens Park has been rescheduled for September 30.
By JOHN T. WARD
Kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month, Red Bank’s mayor and council trained a spotlight on four young Latina students at Red Bank Regional High School last week.
The self-styled “Dream 4” were fresh off an emotional revival of a school club that advocates for Hispanic and Latinx students.
Dreamers Club executive committee member Selena Martinez-Santiago delivers a petition in support of the group to RBR board president Patrick Noble. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Reversing an action that sparked a civil rights complaint and community outrage, Red Bank Regional High School’s board of ed restored funding for an immigrants’ advocacy student group Monday night.
At special session in the Little Silver school’s cafeteria that drew a large crowd – including Red Bank’s entire governing body – speakers voiced support for the Dreamers Club while denouncing a lone board member’s vote that they said imperiled years of progress.
Three of the four members of the Dreamers Club executive committee volunteering at Dog Days on Saturday: from left, Madelyn Sanchez-Berra, Selena Martinez-Santiago and Bethzy Vera-Varela. Below, club president Edith Lozano Zane. (Top photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Dreamers Club at Red Bank Regional High School has filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights alleging it has been “singled out for nine years” of discrimination, the group announced Friday.
The allegations of bias are expected to be in the spotlight when the RBR board of education meets in a special session Monday night. Meantime, Superintendent Lou Moore said he’s “hopeful” the board will reinstate the club by reappointing its advisor.
Gwen Love, center, with the Defined Logic team the Lunch Break picnic. Below, nearly 600 children received backpacks and school supplies. (Photos by Millie Jeter/Lunch Break. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Lunch Break
More than 800 people came to enjoy a perfect summer day, delicious food, fun and games, receive much-needed school supplies and cheered for the winning softball team at the Lunch Break Annual Community Picnic, Softball Classic Tournament & Backpack Giveaway on August 19 at Count Basie Field.
Joining Lunch Break for the Community Picnic were our cancer survivor warriors Millie Jeter and Judith Pandi, who ushered in the softball tournament by throwing the ceremonial first pitch in honor of their heroic achievements. More →
Red Bank Regional High Superintendent Louis Moore. (Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board are pleased to announce that Louis Moore of Red Bank Regional High School in New Jersey has received a Fulbright Leaders for Global Schools Program award.
RBC student Madeleine Carpenter, center, with artists Cristian Mera and Pamela Corrales. (Click to enlarge.)
Press release
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Red Bank Catholic senior Madeleine Carpenter has curated an Ecuadorian art exhibit to be featured at Red Bank Frameworks Gallery, at 135 Monmouth Street in Red Bank.
Press release from state Senator Vin Gopal
New Jersey Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal toured the New Jersey Tutoring Corps’ (NJTC) high-impact summer tutoring site in Red Bank last week.
Hundreds of Red Bank residents turned out for free food and games at the annual police-sponsored National Night Out Against Crime festival at Count Basie Park Tuesday night.
Check out the photos below to see who you know. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Students in the program learn the history of the Black Press in America. (Photo by T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center
The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center will open a new exhibit, “The Black Press: Stewards of Democracy,” on October 7, 2023. The opening of the new exhibit will coincide with the 167th birthday celebration of T. Thomas Fortune on October 3.
In conjunction with the exhibit, the Cultural Center has created the Fortune Tellers Docent Training Program and is currently working with a select group of high school and college students who will become tour guides for the upcoming exhibit.
Borough attorney Greg Cannon, right, with interim Administrator and police Chief Darren McConnell, will draft proposed new laws to limit graffiti. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
See CLARIFICATION below
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s mayor and council are planning measures they hope will counter an increase in graffiti around town.
Here are some highlights from last Thursday’s semimonthly meeting.
Octavia Anyae danced amid the audience at a “Drag Queen Open Mic” to conclude Pride month in Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens Park Friday night.
The Pride flag flying at Red Bank borough hall earlier this month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
While other locales have their knickers in a twist over LGBTQ issues, Red Bank is going all-in with a “family friendly” drag queen event in celebration of Pride month.
The Red Bank Middle School class of 2019 was well represented in the RBR class of 2023. (Click to enlarge.)
Press release by the Red Bank Borough Public Schools
Red Bank Regional High School celebrated its Senior Awards recognition ceremony on June 7, and the Red Bank Middle School Class of 2019 received numerous awards and scholarships.
This group of students truly represented our “Best in America” mentality by achieving recognition in various award categories, including academic, athletics, arts, and community service.
The Red Bank Primary School Choir sang “God Bless the USA.” Below, Scouts troops 67 and 965 led the pledge of allegiance. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Americans should should “remember those people who gave all so you could have the life you have,” a keynote speaker told about 125 area residents assembled in Red Bank for a Memorial Day ceremony Monday.
“They made a sacrifice so that we could all be here and have the ability to live the lives that we do,” Army Colonel Bill Putnam told the gathering, at the Veterans Monument on Monmouth Street at Drummond Place.
Check out redbankgreen‘s event photos below.
Superintendent Jared Rumage, second from left, with board members. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Press release by the Red Bank Borough Public Schools Board of Education
The Red Bank Borough Public Schools Board of Education is proud to announce that Dr. Jared J. Rumage, Superintendent of Schools, has been selected as the 2023 Monmouth County Superintendent of the Year.
Annually, superintendents from each of the nearly 60 school districts in Monmouth County nominate a superintendent who embodies the spirit of district leadership. This year, Dr. Rumage was recognized with this distinction by his colleagues during the monthly Monmouth County Superintendents’ Roundtable on Friday, March 24, 2023.
What is it about trucks that make kids lose their minds in delight? Find out Saturday, when the 11th annual Monmouth Day Care Center Touch-a-Truck fundraiser rolls into the parking lot of the Red Bank Middle School.
Steer your way here for details. (redbankgreen archive photos. Click to enlarge.)
A selection from Middletown High School North’s awards-dominating production of Les Miserables, performed onstage at the Count Basie Center Wednesday night.
Press release from the Count Basie Center for the Arts
The 18th annual Basie Awards, honoring excellence and achievement in Monmouth County high school theatre, drew a capacity crowd to historic Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank Wednesday night.
Two days early, the Red Bank Environmental Commission hosts an Earth Day Green Fair at the borough middle school Thursday evening.
Inspired by “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” Red Bank resident and TV News12 reporter Brian Donohue has kicked off a series in which he hopes to become better acquainted with people who live and work near his Bank Street home.
Gleaming displays at Salt & Smoke, on Prospect Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank may have lost one of its oldest neighborhood butcher shops last summer, but new owners are giving the space a new, spicier lease on life.
Also in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn, a pottery instruction business takes over a tiny, hard-to-see spot in the heart of downtown.
A long-vacant gas station at the foot of Cooper’s Bridge was left out of the new law by mistake, proponents said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council advanced a rewrite of the borough pot law Wednesday night, undeterred by cannabis business owners warning of lawsuits.
The proposed changes, which include a ban on marijuana retailing within 1,000 feet of schools, “please no one,” but must be adopted, their lead sponsor told a sharply divided audience at a special legislative session.
A proposed change to Red Bank’s cannabis law would ban sales within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and public housing, except in one zone, under a draft that’s up for discussion at a special session this week.
The council is eyeing requirements for electric vehicle charging in new multifamily projects and parking lots. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
On the Red Bank mayor and council’s agenda for Wednesday night: rules requiring electric vehicle chargers at new developments, and a change in the parking law for a stretch of Spring Street.
Not on the agenda: the burning issue of how to rewrite the town’s cannabis law.