MIDDLETOWN: RIVERFRONT PARK TO OPEN
In the works for more than eight years, Swimming River Park in the River Plaza section of Middletown is set to make its official debut Monday.
RED BANK: POT LAW DRAWS FIRE BUT ADVANCES
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.
RED BANK: SESSION ON CANNABIS LAW SLATED
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.
RED BANK: POT LAW OVERHAUL PROPOSED
Cannabis proponent Andy Zeitlin testifying at the special session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Expecting to hear about proposed tweaks to Red Bank’s pot law, attendees at a special council session Monday night instead learned that it may be completely rewritten to make it more restrictive.
Councilwoman Angela Mirandi fiercely defended the proposed changes, calling the original 2021 ordinance “reckless.”
RED BANK: CANNABIS SITINGS ON AGENDA
The Red Bank council has scheduled a special session next week to consider easing limits on cannabis shop sitings.
RED BANK: ROADWORK TO CLOSE PINCKNEY
Pinckney Road from Broad Street to Branch Avenue in Red Bank is to be closed to through-traffic for repaving this week – weather permitting.
But it’s not clear what the weather will permit.
RED BANK: PAVING TO CLOSE ROAD OVERNIGHT
One of Red Bank’s main east-west thorughfares is up for repaving this week, with two overnight closings planned, borough police announced Sunday.
RED BANK: AC OUTAGE SHUTS RIVERVIEW ER
Riverview Medical Center’s emergency room entrance as seen in May, 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See Update below.
By JOHN T. WARD
A malfunctioning air conditioning system prompted the temporary closure of the emergency room at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank Wednesday.
RED BANK: COUNCIL WRAP
Council Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center top row, chaired the meeting for the first time since her January 1 election as council president. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council debated several issues with less friction Wednesday night than often seen over the past two years.
RED BANK: ROAD SAFETY ON COUNCIL AGENDA
Bodman Place meets Riverside Avenue between 176 Riverside, at left, and the Colony House apartments, center. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Restarting an effort that failed four years ago, the Red Bank council is expected to again press for the installation of a traffic light at a busy intersection.
Also on the agenda for the council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night is a request that Monmouth County create new crosswalks on busy Shrewsbury Avenue.
VIRUS UPDATE: RBR ON REMOTE, BOROUGH NOT
Students and staff at Red Bank Regional are scheduled begin 2022 in remote mode Tuesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank borough schools will be open Tuesday, but the regional high school in Little Silver will go remote as shifting approaches to a surging COVID-19 virus arrived with the new year.
VIRUS UPDATE: SCHOOLS SCRAMBLE AGAIN
The trend in lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases for three towns since November 1. (redbankgreen chart from Monmouth County data. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Sharp increases in COVID-19 cases scrambled schedules for some Red Bank-area schools as they emerged from their year-end 2021 breaks Monday.
Here’s a rundown.
FAIR HAVEN: KOCH, COLE WIN COUNCIL TERMS
Betsy Koch, left, and Tracy Cole. (Candidate-supplied photos. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Incumbent Republican Betsy Koch and running mate Tracy Cole secured seats on the Fair Haven council with convincing wins over two Democrats Tuesday.
FAIR HAVEN: COUNCIL CANDIDATE Q&As
Four candidates have their eyes on two seats in this year’s election for Fair Haven borough council.
See what they had to say about the issues, and their qualifications to tackle them, in these Q&As with redbankgreen:
Betsy Koch
Bob Gasperini
Tracy Cole
Sonja Trombino
Also, check out the voter resource guide below.
RED BANK: COUNTY CHAIR BLASTS ZIPPRICH
A mailer sent by Zipprich-backed newcomer Jacqueline Sturdivant obscured the name of fellow Democrat and incumbent Kate Triggiano. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
Two weeks before election day, a bitter split between Red Bank and Monmouth County Democratic powerbrokers went wide Tuesday.
In a letter immediately made public, the party’s top county official, David G. Brown II, blasted borough party head Ed Zipprich for “clearly not supporting” incumbent Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, who is seeking a second term.
Zipprich, also a council member, responded with accusations of his own against Brown and Triggiano, with whom he has sparred for more than year.
RED BANK: EARLY VOTING ADDS THIRD OPTION
A voter dropping off a ballot outside Red Bank borough hall last October. The drop boxes will again be used this year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Voters on the Greater Red Bank Green and across New Jersey will have a new option for making their picks in November’s general election: early, in-person voting.
SHREWSBURY: MAN CHARGED AS EMBEZZLER
A Shrewsbury man formerly employed by D’Angelico Guitars of America has been charged with embezzling more than $750,000 from the company and burning through much of it gambling online, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday.
FAIR HAVEN: MONTHS OF ROADWORK TO BEGIN
A year of on-and-off construction disruptions along River Road in Fair Haven is expected to begin Tuesday.
RED BANK: TEACHER NAMED COUNTY’S BEST
Alyssa Geary, below, teaches at the Red Bank Middle School. (Click to enlarge.)
On August 25, the New Jersey Department of Education announced 21 educators as the 2021-2022 County Teachers of the Year during a virtual awards ceremony.
Among them: Red Bank Middle School teacher Alyssa Geary, who garnered the honor for Monmouth County.
RED BANK: MEMORIAL POLICY DEBATED
A 2019 plan to name a dead-end lane off Boat Club Court for former mayor Ed McKenna was dropped at McKenna’s request. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council divided Wednesday night over a proposed policy regarding official memorials.
At least two council members voiced support for allowing streets, parks and structures for honorees who are still among the living; one spoke against it; another suggested erecting omnibus memorials.
LITTLE SILVER: O’SCANLON DEMANDS APOLOGY
State Senator Declan O’Scanlon in Red Bank in May. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
New Jersey state Senator Declan O’Scanlon accused Twitter of “Orwellian” behavior after the social media giant banned him over a three-week-old tweet Saturday.
LITTLE SILVER: COVID SHUTS WEIGHT ROOM
After a Red Bank Regional High School student tested positive for COVID-19 this week, the Little Silver school’s weight room was closed for additional cleaning, an official told players and parents Thursday.
FAIR HAVEN: LIMITS ON SPEED & 5G ENDORSED
A view east along River Road from 2016. Below, a 5G repeater atop a pole alongside Route 35 in Shrewsbury in 2018. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven’s council took two steps to slow things down on River Road Monday night.
One measure would reduce the vehicular speed limit on the road for the full width of town. Another would tap the brakes on an anticipated proliferation of wireless telecom infrastructure on utility poles along that road and and elsewhere in the borough.
The council also took action on upgrades to the historic Bicentennial Hall.
VIRUS UPDATES: STATE VAX TOTAL TOPS 6M
Governor Phil Murphy thanked VNA healthcare providers during a tour of the Red Bank YMCA Friday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccine program has now administered more than 6 million doses since it began December 15, Governor Phil Murphy said Monday. More →
LITTLE SILVER: RBR SET FOR MP4 AND BEYOND
Closing out its third marking period last week, Red Bank Regional High School shared photos over the weekend of the recently completed addition to the Little Silver school, above and below.