RED BANK: COPS GET THEIR PROMO CEREMONY
Errico Vescio, above, and Beau Broadley, right, were among six Red Bank police officers sworn to new positions in ceremonies led by Mayor Pasquale Menna outside borough hall Thursday night.
FAIR HAVEN: ‘TRANSITION’ CUSTOM ROLLS ON
Delayed three months by the COVID-19 pandemic, Fair Haven’s ‘Transition Day’ rolled down Third Street Thursday afternoon.
As per custom in the borough, where an estimated 75 percent of kids regularly bike to school, a group of rising fifth-graders and teachers from the Knollwood Middle School rode across town to Viola Sickles elementary. There, they picked up the incoming fourth-grade class and rode back, parade-style, for an orientation.
Along the way, the riders – including a suit-wearing Superintendent Sean McNeil – were cheered and showered with streamers and confetti.
“It’s the best,” McNeil told redbankgreen. “I think this was exactly what we needed right now, because everybody’s got these tricky school openings, and so it’s nice to get to a place of normalcy and remember what we’re doing this for.”
See more photos below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: LIQUOR STORE SETTLES CASE
The Vingo store at Newman Springs Road and South Bridge Avenue. (Google Maps photo. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Vingo liquor store in Red Bank is among 20 alcohol retailers that have agreed to pay New Jersey $2.3 million to settle charges of unfair trade practices, the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control said in an announcement Tuesday.
The consent agreement grew out of a “sweeping, two-year probe” that also resulted in $8 million payments by the state’s two largest booze wholesalers, the ABC said.
RED BANK: POWER LINE STRUCK
A backhoe operator was lucky to be alive after his machine struck a live power line in Red Bank Tuesday morning.
RED BANK: DESTIGMATIZING ADDICTION
Monmouth County Drug Court prosecutor Lindsay Ashwal was among a series of speakers to advocate for destigmatizing opioid addiction when she addressed an audience of about 75 gathered to mark Overdose Awareness Day at Count Basie Fields in Red Bank Monday.
RED BANK: DWI CHARGED AFTER CRASH
A Long Branch man faces a drunk-driving charge after crashing into a parked vehicle in Red Bank shortly before dawn Sunday.
Separately, a police pursuit of a vehicle believed stolen in Rumson was terminated early Monday morning, according to Chief Darren McConnell.
RED BANK: ‘GOTH & GIRLY’ FASHION ON BROAD
Red Bank’s Broad Street “Broadwalk” briefly served as a fashion runway Sunday evening, as models strutted in creations by designer and retailer Emily Natale, at right.
The owner of Pearl Street Consignment and Custom Clothes, at Pearl and Monmouth streets, described the featured outfits as “very Goth chick, effortlessly girly.”
Seated at the edge of Maggie McKenna’s chalk-drawn runway, Charlotte Hand of Rumson said the event had the feel of an event “that you have to be super-exclusive to get into.”
See more photos from the event below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
LITTLE SILVER: RBR’S ‘SOURCE’ FACES CUTS
The Source provides counseling and other services to hundreds of students and families annually, supporters say. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The in-school social services program dubbed The Source at Red Bank Regional High School faces extinction if a plan to eliminate state funding is not reversed, supporters said.
Under cuts to 91 school-based support programs statewide, the Source would lose about $277,000 in annual state funding, they said. That’s the full amount provided by the state, and its removal will have “devastating consequences,” Superintendent Lou Moore wrote in an announcement to the RBR community Friday.
RED BANK: POOL CLOSURE PROMPTS RENT CASE
The Grandville Towers pool has not opened all summer. (redbankgreen photo. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Thursday’s meeting of the Red Bank rent leveling board included a sharp disagreement over whether capital improvements to an apartment building’s pool enhanced the property’s value.
RED BANK: WEEKEND OUTLOOK MIXED
A visitor to Marine Park in Red Bank enjoyed some shade and cool breezes off the Navesink River earlier this week.
The weekend outlook for the Greater Red Bank Green includes mostly sunny skies Friday and a cloudy Saturday, with chances of daytime rain ranging from 30 to 60 percent, according to the National Weather Service. Sunshine abounds Sunday.
Check out the extended forecast below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: SIDEWALK SALE RETURNS
Unlike the 2017 event, above, this year’s Sidewalk Sale will require social distancing and face coverings. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Delayed one month by COVID-19, the 66th edition of the Red Bank Sidewalk Sale is set to kick off its three-day run Friday.
RED BANK: WHAT’S UP AT VACANT STATION?
A long-vacant former gas station at the northern entrance to Red Bank was fenced off Wednesday for some site work.
RED BANK: SCHOOLS ‘READY TO ROLL’
The traffic flow at the middle school will be reversed to enhance social distancing during student drop-off and pick-up, Rumage said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
While some 180 school districts throughout New Jersey are pursuing plans for all-virtual instruction, Red Bank’s is on track to open September 14 under a plan that puts students into classrooms two days a week, Superintendent Jared Rumage said Tuesday.
RED BANK: COUNCIL PROMOTES SIX COPS
Errico Vescio, right, who was promoted to captain, with former Captain Mike Clay in 2014. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Six Red Bank police officers are set to step up in rank next week, following promotions approved by the borough council last week.
By custom, the changes would have been an occasion for family and friends to pack the council chamber for swearing-in ceremonies. But with borough hall shut down to visitors, and the council meeting remotely via the Internet, that event could not be held, said Chief Darren McConnell.
RED BANK: SUN, HIGH HUMIDITY FORECAST
Sunshine and humidity will combine to drive the ‘feels-like’ temperature on the Greater Red Bank Green into the mid-90s Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
After 4 p.m., there’s a 30-percent chance of rain. Check out the extended forecast below. (NWS image. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: RALLY SLAMS POSTAL CHANGES
About 30 protesters assembled at the post office on Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank at noon Friday to voice alarm over recent changes at the postal service.
RED BANK: DEMS CLASH OVER BUDGET, PROBE
A screengrab of the council’s session Wednesday night. (Zoom screengrab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Rifts among Democrats were on almost nonstop display during a three-hour meeting of the Red Bank council Wednesday night.
While Councilman Ed Zipprich pressed for a probe into an email leak he said had smeared his reputation, at least two of his colleagues were more concerned about his intervention in the bidding for a new trash hauling contract.
But first, the all-Democratic body split over proposed budget cuts pushed by Councilman Michael Ballard that others saw as unwise.
RED BANK: WEEKEND WEATHER OUTLOOK
A flamboyance of fake flamings enjoyed the sunshine with some tea outside Citarella’s Meats on Prospect Avenue in Red Bank earlier this week.
The coming weekend’s weather, however, will be more mundane than flamboyant, as clouds and a chance of rain linger, according to the National Weather Service.
Check out the extended forecast below. (redbankgreen photo. Click to enlarge.) Read More
LITTLE SILVER: SEVEN CHARGED IN ATM SCAM
The Santander branch in Little Silver was one of numerous branches impacted by the scheme Tuesday. (redbankgreen photo. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Little Silver police made seven arrests Tuesday in what authorities allege was a brazen, multistate attempt by more than 100 suspects to exploit a flaw in the ATM system at Santander Bank branches.
FAIR HAVEN: FACILITIES ON SPECIAL AGENDA
The police department has outgrown the former schoolhouse that houses it, officials say. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Six weeks after Fair Haven’s council killed a controversial plan for a new borough hall and police station, the question of what to do instead may have an answer.
On Wednesday, officials announced the council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, August 25 “for a borough facilities review and discussion.”
SHREWSBURY: CRIMES AND ARRESTS
Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Shrewsbury Police Department for the period of August 1 to August 15, 2020. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.
CRIMES
Report of Identity Theft in the area of Garden Road on 8/6/20. Victim reports unknown subject(s) made fraudulent purchases. Damages totaling $11,387.51. Ptl. Tyler Fox investigating.
RED BANK: EX-GYMNAST BRINGS THE JUICE
Daniel Ardelan puts the finishing touches on the window sign at GoodVibe Nutrition Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Lying in bed in her New York City apartment on July 16, Irina Popa-Erwin had an insight: she had to open a store selling healthy beverages.
On Wednesday, five weeks later, she and two partners will open their business in Red Bank, a town they had never visited before they went on a mad search for a place to set up shop.
RED BANK: CRIME & ARREST REPORTS
The crime and arrest reports below were provided by the Red Bank Police Department for July, 2020. This information is unedited; see below for additional information.
CRIMES
Theft: On 07/06/2020 two unknown males were seen entering a garage in the area of W. Westside Ave. The males proceeded to take a bicycle described as a “Specialized” woman’s bike with teal writing valued at approximately $600.00 and were last seen going towards Leighton Ave. Ptl. Tanner Shea.
LITTLE SILVER: CRIMES AND ARRESTS
The crime and arrest reports below were provided by the Little Silver Police Department for July, 2020. This information is unedited. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.
CRIMES
July 1– A victim reported Harassment after a subject made threats and called the victim derogatory names when the victim exited a business on Sycamore Ave. P.O. Jack Massaro investigated.