LITTLE SILVER: HALLOWEEN GETS TRICKY

A Halloween image painted by Markham Place School students on a Prospect Avenue window in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[Correction: The borough website will have downloadable signs for homeowners to indicate their participation in trick-or-treating, not a sign-up list as mistakenly reported.]

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topic For more than an hour, Little Silver officials and residents wrestled Monday night with how to safely pull off Halloween in a pandemic.

Without being buzzkills, that is – particularly to residents of one neighborhood where the holiday has become something of a communal party.

October 5, 2020 - 11:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: BIRD DELIVERY, ON THE CHEEP

Red Bank animal control officer Henry Perez and FedEx driver Vinnie Losapio went looking for a sparrow that flew into Losapio’s truck and up under the dashboard Thursday morning.

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May 21, 2020 - 12:45 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: LIFE BECOMES A MASK-ERADE

Mask-wearing workers installed a sign for a law office in in Fair Haven Friday. “It’s not as annoying as I thought it would be,” one said of the mask.

That day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people wear cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in settings where social distancing is difficult.

The suggestion was quickly taken up, as seen in the photos above and below taken on the Greater Red Bank Green Friday and Saturday. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

April 6, 2020 - 8:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BAGPIPER CLOSES THE DISTANCE

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>Maintaining a safe distance from passersby, bagpiper Doc Saphire plays a bit of ‘Danny Boy’ outside his Red Bank home Wednesday evening.

Because they can’t get together to perform and practice under COVID-19 directives, Saphire and his fellow members of the Pipes and Drums of the Atlantic Watch have embarked on a 100-day campaign of playing a song each night through the Fourth of July, he said. Wednesday night’s performance was his first from his Prospect Avenue porch.

“Once the crisis is over, anybody who wants to learn, we’re giving free lessons,” Saphire said. “If I can do it, anybody can.” (Video by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

April 2, 2020 - 9:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: LIVER TRANSPLANT SCHEDULED

Edie Rose O’Neill and her mom’s cousin, Becky O’Neill, were slated for transplant surgery Friday morning. (Click photo to enlarge.)

[UPDATE, February 6: Edie Rose O’Neill continues improve in Philadelphia hospital, grandfather Ed O’Neill tells redbankgreen. Organ donor Becky O’Neill has been released, he says.] [UPDATE, February 3: “Edie & Becky have safely made it through their surgeries and are both resting in hospitals across the street from one another,” Bridget O’Neill wrote on Facebook Friday night.]

A Red Bank couple hope they have found “the perfect, needle-in-a-haystack” organ donor they’ve been seeking for their ailing infant daughter.

And the donor is a member of the family.

January 31, 2020 - 8:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: LIVER DONOR SOUGHT FOR INFANT

Edie Rose O’Neill has been in intensive care in Philadelphia for the past 10 days. (Click photo to enlarge.)

A Red Bank couple is desperate to find “the perfect, needle-in-a-haystack” organ donor for their ailing infant daughter.

January 21, 2020 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: RACCOON FOUND TO BE RABID

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj A raccoon that tussled with a dog in Fair Haven last month had rabies, redbankgreen has learned.

January 9, 2020 - 12:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: NO LEAD IN WATER, OFFICIAL SAYS

Alberto Larotonda brought his ruptured water line, complete with a connector made of lead, to the council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Extensive testing of Red Bank water has found no evidence of lead contamination, despite the presence of lead pipes serving some homes, a borough official said Wednesday night.

The remarks by public utilities Director Cliff Keen, made during the council’s first semimonthly meeting of 2017, came after a resident showed off a water service line with a lead connector that was recently excavated outside his Spring Street home.

“For more than 20 years, I’ve been drinking out of a lead straw,” Alberto Larotonda told the council.

January 12, 2017 - 6:41 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RESTAURANT SAFETY ASSESSED

Get queasy at the very thought of restaurant inspection records? You might want to avoid this report by NJ.com, which looked at the most recent Monmouth County Regional Health Commission violation reports on all 194 Red Bank restaurants and food stores.

The good news?

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November 4, 2016 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: A THIRD CAREER, IN HEALTHCARE

Sal Cannizzaro outside the latest addition to his newest Immediate Care walk-in health center chain in Red Bank. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The new Immediate Care urgent-care center in Red Bank has all the markings of a healthcare industry play, suggesting teams of doctors pooling their resources to exploit an opening in the era of Obamacare.

But the brains behind the operation is actually a former print-shop owner who’s now on his third career, none of which required studying cadavers or using stethoscopes.

November 1, 2016 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RUMSON: A PARTNERSHIP TO ‘GROW NJ KIDS’

L-R: Mrs. Brister, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Alter review materials related to Grow NJ Kids, a statewide program that the Rumson School District recently subscribed to.

Press release from Rumson School District

As part of an effort to enhance our Preschool program and offerings, the Rumson School District is pleased to announce a collaboration with the New Jersey Departments of Children and Families, Education, Health, and Human Services.

The district’s vision is to establish a program with two goals: improve our early childhood education practices and develop the highest quality preschool program. To accomplish these goals, Rumson has enrolled in the Grow NJ Kids program, which provides districts with support in enhancing program quality and vision for continuous improvement.

August 29, 2016 - 1:13 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: CALLING COUCH POTATOS…

The George Sheehan Classic may have left town, but Red Bank residents looking to ease into a trot, or even a run, after a sedentary winter will get their chance in the form of a new offering from the borough parks and rec department.

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March 17, 2016 - 7:46 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FLAVOR’S ORGANIC FOR KITCH CHEF

Kitch Organic chef Jennifer Freeman stirs a mixture of ground turkey and vegetables while Liam Splane cuts down a flat of wheat grass. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

In the exquisite, state-of-the-art kitchen at Kitch Organic on Leighton Avenue in Red Bank, the cooks are busy preparing some extraordinary recipes.

All the food here is gluten-free and certified-organic, but that isn’t what makes it exceptional. Health benefits aside, chef Jenny Freeman is producing meals chock-full of flavor — and she’s doing it with home-grown and carefully sourced ingredients.

The 42-year-old chef went to the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York “to learn how to help heal people through food,” she tells PieHole. “I wanted to learn good nutrition and use it in my cooking.” Read More »

November 10, 2015 - 1:37 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MARKET OPENS SUNDAY

A week later than its customary Mother’s Day opening, the Red Bank Farmers’ Market returns Sunday to kick off its 16th run through summer and fall.

Among the returning vendors – but not right away – is the nationally regarded Cinnamon Snail vegan food truck, which recently lost its rights to do curbside business in New York City over permitting issues. The Snail’s return to the farm market was uncertain, but a post on the farm market’s Facebook page says the truck is expected to be back “later this month.”

Pets are no longer allowed at the market, which is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the Galleria, at West Front Street and Shrewsbury Avenue.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

May 15, 2015 - 5:10 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MENNA RECOVERING FROM SURGERY

Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna was reported to be “recovering according to expectations” after more than four hours of open-heart surgery Thursday. Michael Anderson, Menna’s legal assistant, tells redbankgreen that “everything went according to plan” in the procedure at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, where surgeons replaced a bicuspid aortic valve with a bovine specimen.

Menna is expected to be hospitalized for about four days. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

May 7, 2015 - 3:51 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MENNA TO HAVE HEART SURGERY

Mayor Pasquale Menna at a press conference in 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna is scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery Thursday, he tells redbankgreen.

May 6, 2015 - 8:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MARKET BEGINS DOG-FREE ERA

A ban on dogs at the Red Bank Farmers’ Market becomes the rule with this Sunday’s edition of the 15-year-old open-air emporium.

After ordering the ban a week ago in response to a report of a dog urinating on food for sale, inspectors from the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission #1 this week informed the owners of the Galleria, which hosts the market, that restricting dogs to areas where food is not displayed would be permitted. But the idea was “deemed not to be workable,” MCRHC director Dave Henry tells redbankgreen. So now, let those puppies… sleep in. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

August 15, 2014 - 1:53 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: DOG BAN IRKS FARM MARKETERS

A ban on dogs at the Red Bank Farmers’ Market appears to have been triggered by a complaint about a dog urinating on a watermelon, the mayor says. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

[See Update at end of article]

By JOHN T. WARD

A sudden ban on dogs at the Red Bank Farmers’ Market caught vendors and local officials by surprise Sunday.

The ban, by the Monmouth County Regional Health Commission #1, appears to have outraged some shoppers, who told vendors they would not return unless their dogs were welcome at the market, which is held weekly in a parking lot at the Galleria at Red Bank on West Front Street.

News of the ban came within 24 hours of reports that the health commission warned vendors at the Red Bank Community Block Party on Drs. James Parker Boulevard that they would be shut down if they didn’t comply with agency rules, Mayor Pasquale Menna tells redbankgreen.

In neither case had the borough administration gotten any communication about the actions from the commission, which Menna called “unacceptable behavior.”

August 11, 2014 - 3:50 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: BIG NIGHT FOR BON JOVIALS

Post by Bon Jovi.

Pop music hearththrob Jon Bon Jovi brings his side project, Kings of Suburbia, to the stage of the Count Basie Theatre in a benefit performance for the Parker Family Health Center Center on Shrewsbury Avenue Wednesday night. Even the LiveStream proceeds will be donated. Here’s a promo video posted on his Facebook page earlier this week. Will you be there? Watch it from home? (Click to enlarge)

July 30, 2014 - 8:09 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BON JOVI TO PLAY BASIE

Jon Bon Jovi and “his local side band,” the Kings of Suburbia, will perform at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre in a fundraiser for the Parker Family Health Center on July 30, the theater announced Monday. Bon Jovi, a Middletown resident, is a long-time supporter of the clinic, based on Shrewsbury Avenue. Tickets, priced $50 to $500, go on sale at noon Wednesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

June 30, 2014 - 7:07 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: NEIGHBOR WANTS SHOW SNUFFED

They sure looked pretty, but last year’s fireworks showered Mary Ylangan’s yard and others with debris, some of which she brought to a council meeting last week. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Mary Ylangan knows she’s on a quest that, at first blush, may sound a bit like she’s against motherhood and apple pie.

She wants Fair Haven to scrap its annual fireworks show.

But having had her home enveloped in smoke and showered with hot fireworks debris, Ylangan – a mom – is lobbying the town to replace the show with something more environmentally friendly.

May 19, 2014 - 7:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK CUTTING FARM VENDOR FEE

Red Bank officials introduced an ordinance amendment this week that will allow food vendors at the Farmers’ Market to obtain yearlong health department licenses for $350, instead of paying $50 per week. A vote on the measure, which Mayor Pasquale Menna said would also reduce paperwork at borough hall, was scheduled for April 23. Here’s the amendment: RB 2014-10

The Farmers’ Market, based in the Galleria parking lot, returns on Mother’s Day, May 11, and runs into mid-November. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

April 11, 2014 - 12:25 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: A LESSON IN HEALTHY EATING

Chef Zeet Peabody shows Red Bank Primary School students around the Monmouth Street garden of the JBJ Soul Kitchen. (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)

By SARAH KLEPNER

Brandy Balthazar’s third-grade class of English Language Learners at the Red Bank Primary School went on a health-conscious field trip earlier this week.

Wearing pedometers, they visited the stores Rincon and Juanito’s on Shrewsbury Avenue to learn about wholesome food choices, and then headed over to the JBJ Soul Kitchen on Monmouth Street, where chef Zeet Peabody happily showed them around the garden.

The Tuesday morning outing was part of Shaping Red Bank, a public health initiative started two and half years ago that addresses dietary causes of childhood obesity and diabetes through a coalition of local organizations, said Sandra Van Sant, Monmouth Regional Health Commission health officer.

June 6, 2013 - 12:10 pm | Comments ()

SEA BRIGHT: RECOVERY GETS PERSONAL

Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long, seen rallying her constituents in November, admits the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has begun to weigh on her. Social services agencies are beginning to address the emotional and psychological needs of storm victims. (Click to enlarge)

By WIL FULTON

Less than half in jest, Sea Bright’s can-do mayor acknowledged Wednesday night that the emotional and psychological strain of Hurricane Sandy recovery have taken a personal toll.

At a town hall meeting held in part to promote outreach programs to help residents map out their own rebuilding plans, Mayor Dina Long told a packed community center that five months after the storm all but obliterated the borough, the challenge of piecing it all back together sometimes gets to her.

I have to admit I have a new favorite saying thats in direct contrast with my old favorite saying, which was, Do, Long said. My new favorite saying goes something like this: I feel like my head is going to explode! Do you guys feel like that?

Groans of approval from the crowd showed the frustration was mutual.

March 21, 2013 - 11:40 am | Comments ()

‘KITCHEN’ EVENT SERVES UP HEALTHY CHOICES

More than 150 kids showed up at the Community YMCA in Red Bank Saturday for ‘Kids in the Kitchen,’ a health fair that featured games and activities, including hula-hooping, above, and instruction on how to grow herbs and vegetables, right. The Junior League of Monmouth County participated. (Click to enlarge)

October 8, 2012 - 6:29 am | Comments ()