Governor Phil Murphy discussing hospital-related data Wednesday. (YouTube screengrab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Key measures of the COVID-19 pandemic have fallen to half their peak levels, but New Jersey residents are still being hospitalized in large numbers, Governor Phil Murphy said Wednesday.
Customers dining in the sidewalk seating area of Robinson Ale House on Broad Street in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials have formed a committee to “creatively expand outdoor capacity for restaurants and retail sales” as the town embarks on a post-COVID-19 recovery.
One idea the committee is expected to chew over: use of public spaces for outdoor dining.
Kris Winters says her White Street shop, Cabana 19, was just getting back on its feet from last year’s streetscape disruption when the pandemic hit. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank construction project looms large for some business owners as they start to crawl out from under one of the worst economic crises in American history.
They’re pleading for “empathy” as they try to avoid a third consecutive blow in one year.
Fair Haven’s municipal dock is open for taking in the vista along the Navesink River, but remains off-limits for fishing and crabbing. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Governor Phil Murphy is still trying to “figure out” how to hold safe graduation ceremonies under the lingering threat of a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, he said Tuesday.
Downtown shoppers will be able to park in designated spots for quick pickups from restaurants and retail stores throughout town. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With merchants starting to emerge from the COVID-19 lockdown, Red Bank officials unveiled a temporary parking plan Monday aimed at helping them regain an economic toehold.
Statewide data shows sustained improvement by key measures in recent weeks, Murphy said. (New Jersey Department of Health data. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Governor Phil Murphy laid out a staged approach to getting the Garden State to a “new normal” way of life following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan, announced Monday at his daily briefing on the crisis, came as he also eased restrictions on outdoor activities such as community gardening and batting cages.
The Red Bank Farmer’s Market reopened Sunday, with some changes to limit the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The foremost modification: the market is now temporarily a drive-thru only, with customers encouraged to pre-order their purchases.
Kurt Poehler, above, and his crew from Spring House Farms were ready with arrays of colorful fruits and vegetables.
By JOHN T. WARD
More than 500 Monmouth County residents have now died in the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy’s administration reported Sunday.
Three-hundred-seventy-two, or 73 percent, of the county’s 508 victims were residents or staff members at longterm care facilities, according to the New Jersey Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Little Silver volunteer firefighters quickly extinguished a fire on the roof of Red Bank Regional High School late Saturday afternoon.
Comedian Jon Stewart and wife Tracey Stewart have donated this year’s harvest from their Colts Neck farm to Red Bank’s Lunch Break to help the nonprofit meet the rising demand for food assistance in COVID-19 crisis. (Video and photo courtesy of Lunch Break. Click to enlarge.)
The Hackensack Meridian Health longterm care facility on Chapin Avenue (seen here in 2011) has been associated with 12 resident or staff deaths, the state reported Friday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s death toll in the COVID-19 pandemic stands at 16, the borough reported government reported Friday.
All appear to have occurred at the borough’s two congregate living facilities, based on separate data sources.
Nearly 80 percent of the state’s COVID-19’s victims have been 65 or older. (Source: COVID19.nj.gov. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
As New Jersey’s death toll from COVID-19 crossed the 10,000 mark, Governor Phil Murphy said other indicators of the weakening pandemic made it safe for physicians to resume elective surgery.
Teams of teachers and volunteers fanned out across the three sending towns of the Red Bank Regional High School district and beyond to shower surprise love and best wishes on the housebound members of the senior class Friday morning.
Among the entries in the Red Bank Public Library’s “Red Bank: Always Beautiful” photo contest is this one, titled “Empty Bleachers,” taken at Count Basie Fields by an unidentified photographer.
“There will be swimming,” but beach capacity may be restricted by oceanfront towns, Murphy said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Jersey shore beaches will be back in business for Memorial Day, if not quite full-tilt, Governor Phil Murphy said Thursday.
With COVID-19 fatalities, cases and hospitalizations on the wane statewide, New Jersey is ready to take “a big step… and do it in a way to protect the public health,” Murphy said at his daily press briefing on the pandemic.
Robert Greene, left, and John Caine at the Red Bank recycling center Thursday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A plan to eliminate two part-time jobs at the recycling center sharply divided Red Bank’s all-Democratic council Wednesday night.
Things got personal. During the governing body’s semimonthly meeting, conducted via Zoom, Councilman Ed Zipprich accused Business Administrator Ziad Shehady of retaliation for an earlier action by the union that represents the affected employees.
Non-essential retail business can resume, but customers won’t be allowed into shops under Murphy’s latest order. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
With non-essential retail operations permitted to partially re-open Monday, Red Bank officials plan to host a Zoom session for merchants “to clarify the evolving guidelines and restrictions” in the COVID-19 pandemic, the borough announced Wednesday night.
Retailers may see some the return of activity with curbside pickup of orders allowed starting Monday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[See UPDATE below]
By JOHN T. WARD
Citing continued gains in the fight against COVID-19, Governor Phil Murphy loosened his clampdown on retail business and construction Wednesday.
Separately, his administration reported 18 cases of a “serious” and possibly related illness in children and teens, a cohort that has been relatively spared in the two-month-old crisis.
A helpful reminder painted on a stone seen outside the CVS pharmacy in Little Silver Monday. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Governor Phil Murphy unveiled plans to broaden testing and tracing for COVID-19 Tuesday.
The paired approaches, he said, offer New Jersey its “best chance at catching and containing” the illness, which has now claimed more than 9,500 lives, including 15 more in Monmouth County.
Red Bank as seen from on high. (Google Maps photo. Click to enlarge.)
A Q&A with J.P. Nicolaides, Lead for the Red Bank Complete Count Committee and member of Red Bank’s Human Relations Advisory Committee
The Red Bank Complete Count Committee is a broad spectrum coalition of communit
A brief hailstorm pelted the Greater Red Bank Green early Monday afternoon.
Abundant sunshine returns Tuesday for a three-day visit, according to the National Weather Service. Check out the extended forecast below. (Video by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.) Read More
State Senator Declan O’Scanlon at an event in Little Silver with Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso and Senator Vin Gopal in early 2018.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With COVID-19 fatalities and cases dropping, Governor Phil Murphy dismissed a call for “rebellion” against his continued near-lockdown of New Jersey’s economic activity Monday.
Meantime, 13th-district state Senator Declan O’Scanlon of Little Silver said his Saturday-night tweet calling on the public to “defy” Murphy’s “stay-home” and other restrictions said he was being “mostly tongue-in-cheek” with the exhortation.
The crime and arrest reports below for the months of March and April, 2020, were provided by the Red Bank Police Department. This information is unedited. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.
CRIMES
Theft: Two cell phones were reported to be stolen from an unlocked vehicle in the area of Boat Club Dr. on 03/05/2020. The cell phones are described as an Apple I Phone 11 valued at approximately $1000.00 and an Apple I Phone 6 plus valued at approximately $600.00. Lt. Robert Kennedy.
Red Bank’s cumulative COVID-19 case total has continued to increase while Fair Haven’s and Little Silver’s have remained relatively flat for weeks. (Source: Monmouth County Freeholders. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
New COVID-19 deaths and cases continued a recent slowing trend in New Jersey over the weekend, Governor Phil Murphy’s administration reported Sunday.
At the same time, thousands of new infections were recorded, with Red Bank’s total remaining on stubborn incline.
By JOHN T. WARD
A four-year-old New Jersey child became the first state resident under the age of 18 to die from COVID-19, Governor Phil Murphy said at his daily crisis briefing Friday.