60°F clear sky

RED BANK: REGION SPARED BY STORM

Though other areas of New Jersey suffered disastrous flooding, the Greater Red Bank Green was spared as Hurricane Ida swept across the state Wednesday.

At 7:30 a.m. Thursday, power utility JCP&L’s outage map showed 90 customers in the area of Silverbrook Road in Shrewsbury without electricity; a handful in Fair Haven; and none in Red Bank.

Police in Red Bank and Fair Haven said they had no damage reports. redbankgreen took a quick drive through Red Bank, Fair Haven and Little Silver and saw no sign of flooding or wind damage.

Above: a view along the Navesink River from Red Bank’s Marine Park shortly after sunrise Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

ON THE GREEN: OUTAGES & ABUNDANT SUN

An unidentified runner on River Road in Fair Haven soldiered through a downpour during Tropical Storm Isais Tuesday.

The storm left hundreds of customers on the Greater Red Bank Green without power, a condition that continued Wednesday morning. Utility provider JCP&L’s online outage map reported 52 percent of its 291,000 customers in Monmouth County still without electricity as of 6 a.m.

The weather outlook for Wednesday is sunny, with a high of about 87 degrees. Check out the extended forecast by the National Weather Service below.

(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

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ON THE GREEN: OUTAGES FOLLOW STORM

Tropical Storm Isais brought down a tree and electrical wires onto a house on Mechanic Street in Red Bank Tuesday. No one was injured, police said.

The storm swept through the Greater Red Bank Green by mid-afternoon, leaving behind numerous power outages, lots of leafy debris – and bright sunshine.

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RED BANK: TORNADO THREAT AMID OUTAGES

With Tropical Storm Isais moving north through New Jersey, a man on a scooter got caught in a downpour on White Street in downtown Red Bank Tuesday morning.

Amid a growing number of power outages, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for 13 of the state’s counties, including Monmouth. More →

RED BANK: HURRICANE FLORENCE WATCH

All eyes are on a brewing storm named Florence that threatens to impact the Eastern Seaboard later this week.
“Florence is forecast to become a major hurricane this morning, and is expected to remain an extremely  dangerous major hurricane through Thursday,” the National Weather Service reported early Monday.

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REDB BANK: HURRICANE FUNDRAISER PLANNED

Red Bank merchants are banding together to contribute to efforts to aid survivors of recent hurricanes that devastated Texas, Florida and Caribbean.

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ON THE GREEN: WEEKEND WEATHER OUTLOOK

rb-sunrise-090916heat-forecast-090916Clouds lay above our beautiful Navesink River at dawn Friday, as seen from the Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank. 

The weekend weather outlook for the Greater Red Bank Green includes continued muggy conditions through Saturday, with temperatures peaking above 90 degrees and possible thunderstorms, before we see a return to sunny skies and moderate temperatures Sunday, according to the National Weather Service(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

ON THE GREEN: TODAY’S LOCAL FORECAST

rb clouds 090716forecast-090816Thick clouds loomed west of Red Bank Wednesday afternoon, as seen from Maple Avenue and West Front Street.

According to the National Weather Service, Thursday’s forecast includes partly cloudy skies, with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, and temperatures reaching about 90 degrees. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

ON THE GREEN: HERMINE BYPASSES REGION

hermine 090516Post Tropical Cyclone (formerly Hurricane and Tropical Storm) Hermine, seen from the Long Branch boardwalk Monday afternoon, as the Greater Red Bank Green enjoyed sunshine and soft breezes, untouched by the rain and strong winds of the storm.

Dangerous ocean rip currents remain, however, along with the threat of minor flooding, as the area faces a mostly cloudy day Tuesday, with a chance of rain after 2 p.m., winds gusting as high as 33 miles per hour, and temperatures peaking at around 80 degrees, according to the National Weather Service(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

SEA BRIGHT: BRACING FOR HERMINE

sb hermine 090416 1StormWatchThe forecasted impacts in terms of both rainfall and tides from Tropical Storm Hermine have been reduced as the storm moved farther east into the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center announced Sunday morning. Still, “moderate” but widespread coastal flooding is expected with the Sunday night and Monday morning high tides.

In Sea Bright, borough workers were busy removing lockers and completing a berm of sand on the municipal beach Sunday morning.

Elsewhere, Jersey Central Power & Light said it has more than 2,400 linemen, forestry workers and other support personnel standing by should high winds and flooding interrupt service to its central and northern New Jersey customers . (Click to enlarge.)

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SEA BRIGHT RISING SAYS ‘MISSION COMPLETE’

Ilene Winters and Chris Wood reviewing requests for  from Sea Bright Rising in January, 2013, three months after Hurricane Sandy devastated the town. On Friday, Winters and Woods announced that the nonprofit organization was dissolved, having completed its mission after giving out $1.6 million in donated funds to 300 families, 20 businesses and the borough itself.

From the announcement: More →

ON THE GREEN: RAINFALL FORECAST UPDATED

hermine rainfall forecast 090216StormWatchA weakening of Hurricane Hermine as it traveled across the Florida panhandle led the National Weather Service to downgrade it to a tropical storm early Friday. But the future track of the storm remains uncertain, and it could douse the area that includes the Greater Red Bank Green in up to three inches of rain Saturday and Sunday, the NWS said in a forecast issued Friday morning. (Click to enlarge.)

 

ON THE GREEN: STORMY WEEKEND POSSIBLE

wind speed probabilities 090216A wind speed probability forecast issued by the National Hurricane center at 2 a.m. Friday. (Click to enlarge.)

StormWatchA category-one hurricane named Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in Florida early Friday, and is now expected to travel northeast along the Eastern Seaboard according to the National Weather Service.

But with “quite a bit of uncertainty” in the storm’s track afterward, the impact on the Greater Red Bank Green’s Labor Day weekend is unclear.

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SEA BRIGHT: RUM RUNNER RESURRECTED

rum runner 050316 2The bar in a glass-walled room one patron called “the aquarium” offers panoramic views of the Shrewsbury River. Below right, restaurant principal Tim McLoone with an opening-night guest. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

tim mcloone 050316Three and a half years after the original was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Sandy, McLoone’s Rum Runner reopened Tuesday night in the form of dazzling behemoth of a “jewel box” beside the Shrewsbury River in Sea Bright.

Above the river, actually. Unlike its modest predecessor, which sat barely above high-tide, the new one is elevated to keep all but the lowest part of a stairwell dry even during the worst storm surge, and provide parking underneath at other times, said its designers.

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SEA BRIGHT: IDEAS SOUGHT FOR PARK SITE

Sea bright anchorage park 2sb anchorage lot 040507What should become of Anchorage Park, the 1.2-acre sliver of riverside land at the foot of the Route 520 bridge in Sea Bright?

Acquired by the borough after Hurricane Sandy left the Anchorage Apartments uninhabitable in 2012, the now-vacant site may be eligible for grant money. But first, borough officials are asking for public input: should it be developed, along the lines of the concept shown above? Planted with grass and left at that?

A public discussion of the matter has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 15 at 6 p.m. at borough hall. The regular council meeting will follow at 7 p.m. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

 

 

ON THE GREEN: FILM TRACKS SANDY RECOVERY

Here’s the trailer to “After Sandy,” a new film made over the past three years by Middetown resident Joe Minnella to document the rebuilding efforts at the Jersey shore in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Minnella and Anthony Jude Setaro of Red Bank, who produced the film, are alumni of Red Bank Catholic High School.

To view the full  100-minute film, click “like” at the “After Sandy” Facebook page and you’ll receive a link to the film page at 8 p.m. on Thursday. The film will be available for viewing until 8 p.m Friday. (Click to enlarge)

 

RED BANK: TOWN ISSUES STORM GUIDANCE

rb molly dome 093015The cupola of the Molly Pitcher Inn in Red Bank appeared to glow amid a backdrop of clouds Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

With tropical storm Joaquin having been upgraded to a hurricane, the Red Bank Office of Emergency Management issued the following statement Wednesday afternoon:

The threat of Hurricane Joaquin traveling up the east coast in the days ahead has the potential to cause severe weather in Monmouth County. It’s still too early to determine how much the storm will impact our area but it is never too early to prepare.

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RED BANK: WILLIAMS’ STORY NOT IMPROBABLE

brian williams 121612NBC News anchor Brian Williams onstage at the Count Basie Theatre in December, 2012. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Was news anchor Brian Williams robbed at gunpoint while selling Christmas trees in Red Bank in the late 1970s, as he has repeatedly claimed – including once before a packed house at the Count Basie Theatre?

That question, and some speculation by local old-timers, threw fuel on an already-raging firestorm about the truthfulness of the NBC News helmsman and former Middletown resident, who was later suspended by the network earlier this month for misrepresenting facts about an incident in Iraq.

Brian Donohue, an nj.com writer and commentator, did some legwork on the Red Bank piece of the story. And while he and his colleagues failed to unearth any specific evidence supporting Williams’ claim, he found plenty to refute the rose-colored reminiscences of locals who said it could not have happened because stuff like that just didn’t happen in Red Bank in the 1970s.

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RUMSON: MAN INDICTED IN GENERATOR CASE

hot-topic rightFailure to come through with a generator purchased by a Rumson homeowner got an Ocean County man indicted Monday, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Mark E. Herrneckar, 51, of Toms River, faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

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STEWART RIPS MEDIA’S WILLIAMS REAX

On Monday night’s edition of the Daily Show, Red Banker Jon Stewart weighed in on the controversy over NBC News anchor Brian Williams, whose embellished account of an incident early in the Iraq war has drawn widespread media scrutiny. Stewart did not comment directly on a claim by Williams, a former Middletown resident, of having once been robbed at gunpoint in Red Bank, which he made to Stewart himself onstage at a Count Basie Theatre fundraiser in December, 2012. (Click to enlarge)