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M’TOWN LIBRARY CENTER OF BUDGET BATTLE

hot-topic rightBy DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A plan by  Middletown’s governing body to raid the public library’s $1.2 million surplus in a bid to save police jobs  has set off an  imbroglio in which officials are taking hard-line stances on each side.

With the township committee well into its 2011-’12 budget process, the hunt for savings and more revenue is on, and officials have zeroed in on the library for much-needed dollars to save jobs, says Mayor Tony Fiore.

That has pitted elected officials against the library’s manager and some patrons.

On Wednesday night, the two sides will try to hash it out in a public meeting at the library.

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February 15, 2011 - 12:21 pm |

ZIPPRICH SPOTLIGHTS ABORTION PROTEST

planned-parenthoodThe Planned Parenthood clinic on Newman Springs Road is the purported terminus of a protest walk planned for March 12. Below, Councilman Ed Zipprich. (Click to enlarge)

zipprich-021411The Red Bank council’s rubber-stamping of some two dozen requests for public events was interrupted Monday night when Councilman Ed Zipprich raised security issues in connection with a planned anti-abortion march scheduled for next month.

Invoking the recent shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords and a push by New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith to have the federal government redefine rape in an effort to limit access to abortions, Zipprich expressed concern that the march might attract someone bent on violence.

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February 15, 2011 - 9:33 am |

M’TOWN BUDGET: 10 COPS COULD LOSE JOBS

mtown-cruiserThe axe may fall if the PBA doesn’t make significant concessions, the township committee said. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Faced with the state’s new two-percent property tax cap and a drastic revenue shortfall, Middletown’s township committee has drafted what Mayor Tony Fiore calls a “doomsday scenario,” which includes laying off 10 police officers and effectively dismantling the town’s recreation department.

“It’s not news we like to share,” Fiore said of the plan, filed with the state Civil Service Commission on Friday, which anticipates the elimination of some 26 jobs.

Layoffs could take effect as soon as April, Fiore said, if the committee doesn’t get significant concessions from the library board and the handful of unions that represent township employees.

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February 14, 2011 - 2:27 pm |

RBC RAISES KICK-IN ON BASIE FIELDS UPKEEP

count-basie-fieldsRed Bank Catholic will pay more for its use of Count Basie Fields to help defray the cost of the turf upgrades. (Click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Red Bank Catholic‘s rent is going up.

The borough council Wednesday night voted to amend the parochial school’s annual lease of Count Basie Fields in order to help cover the $878,000 cost of a recent artificial turf job. Most of the cost — $537,500 — was covered by two grants, said borough Administrator Stanley Sickels said.

RBC will now pay $80,000 a year for use of the fields for the next 15 years, up from $55,000. It will also contribute $50,000 a year over the next three years into the field’s capital improvement fund, Sickels said.

Here’s the resolution on the agreement: 10-255draftresolution

Here’s a rundown of other happenings from Wednesday night’s council meeting:
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December 10, 2010 - 9:41 am |

CHIEF TALKS HOT TOPICS ON THE WEST SIDE

westside-group21Red Bank Police Chief Steve McCarthy gave a crime update to West Side residents Wednesday night, part of his monthly meeting at River Street Commons. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Red Bank Police Chief Steve McCarthy comes to River Street Commons every month, and usually opens up with a crime update.

While it’s an important element of his regular appearances in front of the West Side Community Group — especially this month, with a rash of violence on the West Side — it’s only one reason for the visits.

It’s on nights like these he gets to hear the concerns from residents. And they have plenty.

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November 11, 2010 - 7:22 am |

RETIREMENTS TO COST RED BANK $750K

rb-borough-hall-500x375Red Bank Borough Hall. (Click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Since Governor Chris Christie enacted sweeping pension reforms this summer, two-week notices have filed into Red Bank Borough Hall. Now — as is the case in many municipalities across the state —  it’s time for town officials to figure out a payment plan.

Red Bank is on the hook for $750,000 in payouts for unused sick days and other perks as a result of 11 employee retirements, officials say. And on Monday night the council passed the first reading of an ordinance to borrow over the next five years to pay them.

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November 10, 2010 - 12:19 pm |

CELEBRATING HERITAGE, TALESE SLAMS MEDIA

gtalese_01Author Gay Talese at the Two River Theater Saturday for a Italian-American heritage event. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi. Click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

“Jersey Shore” is for stupid people.

That’s what best-selling author and  journalist Gay Talese thinks about MTV’s wildly popular show that spotlights all the unsavory behavior of a pack of club-going, fist-pumping “guidos” and “guidettes.” As an American of Italian descent, Talese finds shows like “Jersey Shore” and “The Sopranos” unfair depictions of what it means to be an Italian-American.

On Saturday, when Talese appeared at Red Bank’s Two River Theater as the keynote speaker for the New Jersey Italian American Heritage Commission‘s annual gala, there was no question why, in his opinion, the Italian-American is laughed at rather than respected: the media.

“We should not be proud of the Italians in the media because they’re not there. Why? Because they didn’t educate themselves to be in the media,” he said. “The Italian image in the media today is rotten because there are no Italians to defend them.”

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November 8, 2010 - 12:43 pm |

R-FH CONFRONTS HARASSMENT OF GAYS

gsa_think_b4_youR-FH students have been proactive in educating people about tolerance and GLBTI issues. (Photo courtesy of Kate Okeson; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A rash of suicides by gay teens, and its spotlight in the national media, is simultaneously a tragedy and opportunity, said Kate Okeson, who heads Rumson-Fair Haven regional high’s Gay-Straight Alliance.

So when journalist and author Beth Greenfield, a native of Eatontown, comes to the school Friday night to speak about living as an out journalist and memoirist, the event takes on a little more importance than usual, Okeson said.

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October 14, 2010 - 3:12 pm |

LOANS TARGETED TO BUYERS WHO WORK HERE

live-rb1Tony Marchetta, executive director of the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, introduced the Live Where You Work Program in Red Bank Friday. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna says all too often people hear that residents that are fleeing New Jersey for cheaper places to live. He doesn’t necessarily buy it, and suggests those reports be taken with a grain of salt.

At the same time, though, he said he understands the state needs to move on a different, more sustainable course, particularly in the housing market, which has been shaky at best the last few years.

“Municipalities need to change. Red Bank needs to change,” Menna said.

Part of that change began Friday, he said, when the borough became the fifth municipality in Monmouth County, and the 34th in the state, to join a statewide program to help make employees residents of the towns they work in.

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October 5, 2010 - 10:02 am |

COPS IN TWO TOWNS PROBE BURGLARIES

bennett-lane-1Little Silver police, aided by a police dog, investigated a burglary at a home on Bennett Lane last Thursday. (Photo by Peter Lindner; click to enlarge)

Little Silver and Red Bank police are investigating a pair of similar residential burglaries committed less than half a mile apart on the same day last week, authorities in the adjacent towns say.

In the Little Silver break-in, reported last Thursday at 1:48p on Bennett Lane, police collected physical evidence they hope will lead them to the perp or perps. They also brought in a tracking dog from Atlantic Highlands in an unsuccessful effort to find the burglars, who forced their way into a house through a locked front door and made off with a stash of jewelry, says Sergeant Dan Shaffrey.

The same day, at an unspecified time between 8:30a and 5:03p, a burglary was committed at a home on Silverwhite Avenue in Red Bank, police reported. There, the burglar tore an alarm off the wall and made off with cash and jewelry.

“We don’t have any evidence at this point that links the two, but we’re certainly looking at that possibility,” Red Bank Chief Steve McCarthy tells redbankgreen.

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June 24, 2010 - 12:46 pm |

BASIES HOSTLESS AFTER PROTEST THREAT

bigjoeteennj

Jersey 101.5 radio personality Big Joe Henry (pictured here at a past Miss Teen NJ pageant) has confirmed that he’s stepped down as host of the fifth annual Basie Awards for high school stage performers, an event scheduled for Wednesday night at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre.

To the organizers, sponsors and featured guests of the yearly event, it’s “all about the kids” — a chance for talented young performing artists from Monmouth County high schools to be treated like red-carpet royalty for an evening.

But with the fifth annual Count Basie Theatre Awards scheduled for Wednesday night, a simmering controversy has boiled over from the politicial arena, resulting in the eleventh-hour withdrawal of the event’s master of ceremonies, and threatening to cast a plus-size shadow over the proceedings.

On Monday, the Count Basie Theatre announced that the 2010 edition of the program commonly known as “The Basies” will proceed as planned, but without the formidable figure of Big Joe Henry, the Garden State radio personality who was scheduled to serve as guest host.

Described on the venue’s website as a mutual agreement made “so the event can remain focused on the students,” the parting of ways was the culmination of an increasingly public argument that pitted supporters of the New Jersey Education Association against both Basie management and Big Joe’s employer, Trenton-based WKXW-FM (Jersey 101.5). It’s also a fracas that’s continued to snowball from e-mail campaigns and Facebook forums to the region’s major print and broadcast media.

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May 25, 2010 - 5:27 am |

M’TOWN TEACHERS REJECT FREEZE REQUEST

mtown-workshopMiddletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger discusses the “jousting” between the town and district teachers’ union at Monday night’s committee workshop. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

At the eleventh hour, Middletown’s teachers’ union responded to Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger’s request that teachers accept a one-year wage freeze.

Nope.

Scharfenberger said the Middletown Township Education Association rebuffed his request for the freeze, which he estimates would save about $3 million in the failed $140.3 million education budget.

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May 4, 2010 - 4:59 am |

A SPOT OF SUNDAY TEA

chorney1Linda Chorney professed her love for Tea Party tweaker Jon Stewart Sunday during the making of a music video for her tune, “The Teabag Party.” (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Red Bank had a tea party of its own on Sunday, although it was far from the pot-banging, Palin-esque affairs of recent vintage.

This one was a retort to the Tea Party movement, and leading the party was Linda Chorney, a politically involved Bostonian who assembled some of her closest friends and strangers to shoot a video for her song, “The Teabag Party,” at NovelTeas on Bridge Avenue Sunday.

Rather than scathing political criticism, this party took a lighthearted tone, with song lyrics such as, “Socialist/Communist/ We’re gonna teabag you while we do the twist.” More →

May 3, 2010 - 7:54 am |

M’TOWN SCHOOLS IN ‘INVESTIGATION’ MODE

mtown-boeTwo of the three newly-elected board of ed members, Vincent Brand, left, and Chris Aveta, at Wednesday night’s meeting. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

The Middletown Board of Education could staff a detective bureau with all the investigating it’s doing and has ahead.

Investigating was the buzzword from the district Superintendent Karen Bilbao Wednesday night when pushed for details on where and how cuts would be made to the district’s $140.3 million budget, which was rejected by voters last week.

As in, will more teachers have to be laid off? She’s investigating.

Or, will there be redistricting, or school closings, as Bilbao has hinted at before?

“Closing a school or more than one school is one of the areas we said needed to be investigated,” Bilbao said.

“We are investigating a lot of things at this point.”

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April 29, 2010 - 9:14 am |

CHRISTIE: NO TO LNG & DRILLING PROJECTS

sb-christie-2-042210Governor Chris Christie at Surfrider Beach Club in Sea Bright Thursday, flanked by his daughter Brigit, former Gov. Tom Kean and DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. (Photo by Tim Larsen; click to enlarge)

There will be no oil rigs visible from New Jersey’s beaches, and no man-made islands or floating pipelines to transfer liquefied natural gas from ship to shore under his watch, Governor Chris Christie vowed Thursday.

At an oceanfront beach club in Sea Bright to mark the fortieth Earth Day, Christie said that while natural gas is a critical piece of the state’s energy future, “for as long as I am governor, this administration will oppose any application for liquefied natural gas,” according to the Asbury Park Press.

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April 23, 2010 - 5:26 am |

STATE AID CUT FORCES ‘SEVERE CHOICES’

dupontCouncilman Michael DuPont delivers the bad news Monday night. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Layoffs, furloughs and a reduction in services, once considered elements of a worst-case scenario, will now be a reality in Red Bank, officials said Monday.

“We’ve made some severe choices, we’re going to make severe choices, and you’re going to see them,” Councilman Michael DuPont, who chairs the finance committee, said at last night’s Borough Council meeting.

The grim news comes on the heels of word that the borough, already saddled with what officials have called the extraordinary burden of providing services to a large number of tax-exempt nonprofits, will see a drop of $517,144 in state aid this year. Traditionally the borough has received $2.5 million, DuPont said.

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March 23, 2010 - 6:23 am |

HALFACRE HITTING THE TRAIL HARD

halfacre-dist12-campaignFair Haven Mayor and candidate for Rush Holt’s 12th district Congressional seat, seen in his office with a map of the district. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

You aren’t going to see much white space on Mike Halfacre’s calendar these days. Maintaining a town, a law practice and working the campaign trail tends to wipe out your free time.

Since announcing his campaign against Democratic incumbent Rush Holt in July, the mayor of Fair Haven has been hard at work trying to gain support across the large swath of New Jersey that is the 12th District — 44 municipalities in five counties that reaches from Halfacre’s hometown to the Delaware River.

With county conventions and a primary looming, Halfacre has been on a dizzying pace on the stump.

“I’m very busy,” he said. “I am out somewhere almost every night of the week.”

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March 18, 2010 - 1:00 pm |

PAIN, AND AN INCREASE, IN SCHOOLS BUDGET

rb-boeThe Red Bank Board of Education begrudgingly approved a preliminary budget Tuesday night that increases the tax levy. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

The Red Bank Board of Education unveiled a preliminary budget Tuesday night that, as expected, is going to sting.

After-school sports? Gone. Field trips? Not unless somebody else pays for them. Supplies? Reduced.

Six positions would be eliminated under the $19.9 million spending plan, said Superintendent of Schools Laura Morana. The board also suspended non-essential and non-emergency maintenance at the borough’s schools, among other things, in order to cut costs.

“We’re really, basically, putting off everything that needs to be done,” said Annie Darrow, the board’s business administrator.

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March 17, 2010 - 6:37 am |

COUNCIL WANTS ITS FAIR SHARE OF AID

mennaMayor Pasquale Menna ponders the borough’s future on Monday night as he discussed possible cuts in state aid. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Pairing the word ‘doomsday’ with ‘budget’ doesn’t exactly evoke a warm fuzzy feeling, but Red Bank officials are prepared to put them together if the state’s new governor, Chris Christie, runs a scythe through state aid this budget season, as he’s all but promised.

Because about 16 percent, or roughly $320 million, of Red Bank’s assessed value consists of non-profits — meaning the borough doesn’t collect taxes from those groups but still has to provide necessary services to them — a major loss, like 25 percent as Christie has proposed, would be crippling, said councilman Michael DuPont.

That’s why he asked the council to get on board with a message to Trenton urging state officials to recognize Red Bank’s unique situation and be kind with its cuts.

“I think the state needs to understand this is a hardship,” DuPont said.

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January 26, 2010 - 6:44 am |

EDUCATION FORUM TACKLES CHRISTIE CUTS

hot-topic rightIt’s official: Chris Christie is the governor of New Jersey and, more than likely, education funding changes are afoot. You want an idea of what to expect? The Shrewsbury Parent-Teacher Group has you covered.

The group will host a presentation on changes that are expected under the Christie regime at 7p, January 27, at the Shrewsbury Boro School. Lynne Strickland, the executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, will be the speaker. The public is invited to the forum, said Meg Gerth, a parent.

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January 20, 2010 - 8:12 am |

LEGALIZATION ADVOCATES TO HOST POT FILM

union-movie_11x172

Will the pro-pot lobby finally get to exhale next week?

If so, one of their earliest celebrations may be here in Red Bank.

As the state Assembly and Senate prepare for a possible vote Monday on the New Jersey Compassionate Use Marijuana Act, two pro-legalization organizations will be at the borough’s public library Wednesday night to talk all things cannabis.

The international Students for Sensible Drug Policy and marijuana reformist advocates NORML are hosting the screening of “The Union: The Business Behind Getting High,” a documentary film about marijuana legalization at the library.

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January 7, 2010 - 3:10 pm |

CORZINE TO RB DEMS: SORRY, NO SEATS LEFT

corzine-mennaRed Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna holds a chair for Gov. Jon Corzine prior to a radio interview at the KaBoom Fireworks on July 3. The Corzine campaign did not return the favor.

It’s official. The most reliable bloc of Democratic voters in Monmouth County has been shut out of their party’s biggest-ever event hereabouts: today’s scheduled appearance by resident Obama at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel.

And the snub comes from the re-election campaign of Gov. Jon Corzine, who was feted and fawned over by the party faithful twice in recent weeks.

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July 16, 2009 - 1:17 pm |

SHIPPING OUT AGAIN

 

About 400 friends and family members gathered at the 6th Motor Transport Battallion reserve center in Lincroft yesterday to say goodbye to 137 Marine reservists headed to Iraq.

Some of the Marines were embarking on their third tour.

Brian Donohue of the Star-Ledger’s Ledger Live was there with his video camera and caught these poignant moments.

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May 28, 2009 - 5:33 am |
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