58°F scattered clouds

SANDY HOOK: SPRINGSTEEN BUSTED FOR DWI

Bruce Springsteen outside the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank in 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njCould Bruce Springsteen be in need of a presidential pardon soon?

The rock star was arrested for DWI and other charges at Sandy Hook in November, federal officials confirmed Wednesday.

More →

SANDY HOOK: PROPOSED FEE HIKE RETURNS

The per-car fee would jump to $20, from $15, under the proposed hike. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03Four years after a planned entry fee increase was scrapped, Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook will try again.

Under a proposed fee hike announced Wednesday, visitors would pay $20 per day per vehicle, or $100 per season, starting in the summer of 2021.

More →

SANDY HOOK: BIRDS DISPLACE CONCERTS

SANDY HOOK, nj, beachhot topic red bank njFirst came a ban on booze. Now, the entire series of summer beach concerts at Sandy Hook has been cancelled to protect the piping plovers. And no, that’s not the name of a band. More →

SANDY HOOK: BOOZE BANNED

SANDY HOOK, nj, beachThe first year of the ban will focus on educating the public about the change, though repeat offenders will face fines, officials said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njSuntanning beachgoers and devotees of the summertime concerts at Sandy Hook can kiss their favorite alcoholic beverages goodbye.

Citing 328 alcohol-related incidents between 2016 and 2018, officials have banned all forms of booze from the waterfront park, the last public beach in New Jersey where it was still allowed.

More →

RED BANK: BRIDGE RENAMED FOR KYRILLOS

State Senator Joe Kyrillos at the opening of the new bridge in May, 2015. Freehold John Curley is at left. Below, a Google Satellite view of the bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

For who knows how long, the West Front Front Street bridge connecting Red Bank and Middletown has been colloquially known as “Hubbard’s Bridge.” To Monmouth County, which owns the span and replaced it three years ago, it’s “S-17.”

As of Thursday, though, the 488-foot connector over the upper Navesink River has a new name: the “Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos Bridge.”

More →

RED BANK: MILD WEATHER FORECAST

After three snowfalls in a week, autumn 2017 winds down on the Greater Red Bank Green with unexceptional weather.

More →

RED BANK: THIRD SNOWFALL FORECAST

A third late-autumn snowfall in the span of a week could lay up to three inches on the Greater Red Bank Green starting late Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service(Click to enlarge.)

Click ‘read more’ for dull details on the weekend and beyond, weatherwise.

More →

RED BANK: GUSTY CONDITIONS FORECAST

A pair of gulls at Marine Park in Red Bank Monday. They’ll have more wind beneath their wings starting Tuesday evening, according to the Weather Channel(Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)

More →

SANDY HOOK: SURF FISHERMAN DIES

A fisherman died after being rescued from the surf off Sandy Hook Wednesday morning, a Gateway National Recreation Area spokeswoman said.

More →

SANDY HOOK: BE IN ON THE BLITZ

Students of all ages and their family members are invited to participate in the annual “BioBlitz” census of species on Sandy Hook, hosted by the American Littoral Society on Friday.

[CORRECTION: The original version of this post reported the event is occurring Saturday. It’s on Friday.]

It happens every September, around the ocean and bay beaches, coves, trails, and forested areas of Sandy Hook — and for 12 hours beginning Saturday morning, “citizen scientists” of all ages are invited to assist a team of naturalists in the annual census operation known as “BioBlitz.”

More →

SANDY HOOK: SUN SETS ON SUMMER ’17

It’s a big tent event, and a last chance to RSVP, as the Sandy Hook Foundation returns to the North Beach area of the peninsula Friday evening for the annual End of Summer Party fundraiser.

Granted, summer doesn’t officially sigh its last for a couple of weeks — and all those familiar with the rites of Local Summer know that there’s plenty of life after Labor Day here on the New Jersey Shore. But when the Sandy Hook Foundation declares the End of Summer, people take notice and listen — to the extent that the nonprofit’s annual “beach chic” outdoor benefit gala remains one of the most glittering events of the sand-in-your-shoes social calendar.

More →

IN THE AIR: FREE MUSIC, MOVIES AND MORE

Week two of this summer’s Movies in the Park series in Red Bank features an entry from the ‘Star Wars’ catalog. Below, Layonne Holmes fronts the Motor City Revue in a return to Sandy Hook Wednesday.  

There’s a chance to imagine yourself as part of the biggest franchise in film fantasy history. Some power pop on the dock. A heat-blast of Latin-flavored jazz in the park. A little beach-music soul on the sands. And one of the world’s most beloved plays on yonder grassy knoll.

It’s all going on beneath the setting sun and stars of the Greater Red Bank Green — and all fabulously free of charge in the evenings to come.

More →

SANDY HOOK: GIRL DIES DAY AFTER RESCUE

sandy hook 061712Sandy Hook as seen from the Route 36 Captain Joe Azzolina Bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

A 12-year-old Union County girl died Monday morning, less than a day after being pulled out of water at Sandy Hook, National Park Service spokeswoman Daphne Yun tells redbankgreen.

More →

SANDY HOOK: BEACH CONCERTS ARE BACK

The season of free Sandy Hook Beach Concerts lets fly its first note Wednesday evening, with the Brian Kirk and the Jirks head back to the beach when the free concert series on Sandy Hook returns Wednesday evening.

If you’ve got sand in your (flip-flop) dancing shoes…picnic provisions in your cooler…the salty sea air at your back…and a classic party-starting song in your head, courtesy of a plugged-in professional band…you just might have found yourself at the Sandy Hook Beach Concert Series, the 2017 schedule of which serves up its first volley tomorrow evening, June 14.

Going up around 6 p.m. at Beach Area E on the Hook, the long-running Wednesday series of free-for-alls is sponsored by the nonprofit Sandy Hook Foundation, and arrives complete with sandy sitdown seating, all-natural A/C, and complimentary picture-perfect sunsets.

More →

SANDY HOOK: PARTY ON, PARTNERS

Brian Kirk, pictured at a past edition of the Jersey Shore Partnership Summer Celebration, helps the nonprofit ring in summer 2017 at Monday night’s annual event. 

They call themselves “The Sand on the Beach People” — and each and every year about this time, the folks who make up the nonprofit Jersey Shore Partnership host an official welcome to the warm-weather primetime season on Sandy Hook.

This coming Monday, June 5, a cast of political dignitaries, business leaders, entertainers and members of the Shore’s culinary community will gather at the northern end of the peninsula for the 2017 edition of the annual Summer Celebration.

More →

SANDY HOOK: A FREE FUNDAY ON THE HOOK

The historic lighthouse at Sandy Hook is one of the man-made and natural highlights of Sunday’s Ocean Family Fun Day.

Closing in on Memorial Day weekend, which marks the return of entry fees at Sandy Hook, the folks at the Hook-based local chapter of the American Littoral​ Society are offering sightseers of all ages one last pre-season opportunity to enjoy the peninsula’s many natural and man-made wonders this Sunday.

More →

SANDY HOOK: RAMBLE, ANGLE AND STARGAZE

Jeff Dement of the American Littoral Society invites anglers of all ages and skillsets to a Surf Fishing Clinic, Saturday morning at the northern end of Sandy Hook.

There’s a rare opportunity to see a corner of the local coastline that’s usually off limits to public eyes; a tutorial in recreational surfcasting; opportunities to gaze at some heavenly bodies under cover of night; and a celebration of earthly treasures in creative expression.

And it’s all all happening in the days and evenings to come on the Sandy Hook peninsula.

More →

RED BANK: ANOTHER SOAKING IN FORECAST

After drenching rains last week, the Greater Red Bank Green is in for more Wednesday night through Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. As much as two inches of rain is expected. But first: some sunshine and temperatures approaching 60 degrees Wednesday. These plants along River Road in Red Bank won’t mind either way. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)

SANDY HOOK: GRASS PLANTERS WANTED

No fooling: on Saturday, April 1st, the folks at the Sandy Hook-based American Littoral Society will be planting dune grass — and everyone is invited to lend a hand.

Between the hours of 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Society will coordinate a “rain or shine” volunteer event in conjunction with their Beach Grasses in Classes program, involving students from area schools who raise and plant dune grass. The grasses play a big role in helping to stabilize beaches along the storm-battered coast; protecting the dunes that serve as barriers against flooding, and helping to prevent major erosion events.

More →

RED BANK: AT LEAST FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

A boat traveled through fog on the Navesink River off Marine Park in Red Bank Monday morning. The fog was expected to lift by 10 a.m., but alternating rain and cloudy skies were expected to linger until Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service(Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)