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RED BANK: CHIEF ADDRESSES USE OF FORCE

red bank nj policeRed Bank’s police chief hasn’t seen a single case of unwarranted force during an arrest in five years, he tells redbankgreen. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank’s police chief says he reviews every report of force used by members of his department during arrests, and hasn’t found any in the past five years that appear improper.

Chief Darren McConnell’s observation followed the release by NJ Advance Media last week of data on every arrest in which police used force in New Jersey over four years.

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SEA BRIGHT: APARTMENTS RAZED FOR PARK

sb anchorage 013115sb pole 110512Sea Bright’s Anchorage Apartments, left uninhabitable by the converging waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Shrewsbury River in Hurricane Sandy, were demolished Saturday.  Using Green Acres funding, the state plans to buy the complex, at the anchorage of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, and turn it into a 1.2-acre park. At right: during the October, 2012 hurricane, a utility pole became lodged in one of the first-floor units. (Photo above by Kenny Katzgrau. Click to enlarge)

 

 

SEA BRIGHT COVETS ANCHORAGE SITE

The Anchorage Apartments were left uninhabitable by Hurricane Sandy, which deposited a utility pole in the living room of one unit, below. (Click to enlarge)

The storm-wracked Anchorage Apartments complex in Sea Bright would become a beach parking lot under a plan being considered by state officials, the Star-Ledger reported Tuesday morning.

Located on Ocean Avenue at the foot of the Route 520 Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge and mere feet from the Shrewsbury River, the single-building complex is seen as a partial solution to a parking shortage that has vexed efforts to open up North Beach oceanfront to visitors.

Razing the property would come at a tradeoff for the town: the loss of a $45,000-a-year tax ratable. But Mayor Dina Long tells the Sledger that’s alright.

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MAGAZINE SPOTLIGHTS RED BANK EATERIES

A screen grab of the article posted Friday. (Click to enlarge)

Inside Jersey, the monthly magazine of the Star-Ledger, calls out Red Bank as one of ‘Jersey’s Dining Dozen’ in it’s latest issue.

Calling out eight eateries, writer and Munchmobile maven Peter Genovese says Red Bank offers “the Jersey Shore’s liveliest dining scene outside Atlantic City.”

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GULP.

irene-sledger-082611Have they got your attention now?

The front page of today’s Star-Ledger is dominated by a single story, headlined “N.J.’s MOST DEVASTATING STORM EVER?’ (Click to enlarge)

From NJ.com, the Sledger’s website:

New Jersey is wearing the bull’s-eye for what could turn out to be the state’s worst storm ever, a Category 2 hurricane packing winds that could reach 100 mph, pushing a wall of water from the ocean as high as 12 feet and spreading floodwaters to inland towns.

Clearly, the newspaper reflects the consensus judgment of experts that we’re in for a potentially catastrophic storm come Sunday as Hurricane Irene lumbers north along the East Coast, with threat levels classified as “extreme” from the Carolinas to New England.

‘CANDIDA’ REVIEWS: A FRESH LOOK AT SHAW

cremin-diasSue Cremin, who has the title role in ‘Candida,’ with TRTC artistic director John Dias after Saturday’s opening-night show. Below, former ‘Cosby Show‘ star Geoffrey Owens, right, returned to the TRTC, where he starred in ‘Opus‘ earlier this season, and ran into former ‘Frazier‘ star David Hyde Pierce. (Click to enlarge)

hyde-pierce-geoffrey-owensEarly reviews of the Two River Theater Company‘s new production of George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Candida‘ find it a fresh take on a play that made its debut in 1898.

Star-Ledger theater critic Peter Filichia says the Red Bank production nears its conclusion with a moment of suspense, something not usually associated with the play’s author.

And Asbury Park Press reviewer Tom Chesek (who also writes for redbankgreen) says director David Staller “has revealed a play that’s actually contemporary at heart.”

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FAIR HAVEN DUCK FLAP GETS SLEDGERED

A conflict over a 12-year-old resident’s request to keep six pet ducks in her Fair Haven back yard has attracted the probing lens of Ledger Live.

And a critical essay by a columnist.

In a video posted Sunday, Star-Ledger video reporter Brian Donohue ducks his camera under branches and stands stock-still in a driveway in an attempt to verify complaints by South Woodland Drive neighbors that Nicole Stover’s ducks are too loud and their pen unsightly.

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BRAVOS FOR ‘OPUS’ AT TWO RIVER THEATER

anjanette-hall Anjanette Hall, who plays the wide-eyed new member of a string quartet, at the opening-night reception at the Two River Theater on Saturday. Former ‘Cosby Show’ star Geoffrey Owens, below, plays the cellist. (Click to enlarge)

geoffrey-owens

Opus,’ a piquant drama about a fractious string quartet that’s commanding the mainstage at Red Bank’s Two River Theater Company through November 14, is getting some positive ink.

In the Star-Ledger, theater critic Peter Filicihia calls Michael Hollinger‘s play, which focuses on the effect that a shattered romantic relationship has on the quartet, “bittersweet but delicious.”

“Director Matthew Arbour has orchestrated the 90-minute show with loving care,” Filichia writes.

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FORMER R-FH TEACH FILLS SCHUNDLER’S SPOT

hot-topic rightBy DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A veteran educator with local roots will fill Bret Schundler’s spot as head of the state education department, a post he commanded less than a year before being fired Friday.

Rochelle Hendricks, who got her start teaching in the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District, got the nod from Governor Chris Christie to replace Schundler, who was ousted from the administration after failing to secure federal funds for education. Schundler and his cabinet lost out on coveted Race To The Top money because of a budget error, the Star-Ledger reported.

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MUNCHERS DIG IN AT GAETANO’S

The Star-Ledger’s Munchmobile came to Red Bank in search of “the best pasta sauce” in New Jersey, taking up a table at Gaetano’s on Wallace Street as part of its tour.

The upshot? A mixed review in today’s paper, but high praise for the meat sauce.

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BISTRO GETS A BOOST

“A good space with friendly energy,” the Sledger says.

Today’s Star-Ledger reviews the Bistro at Red Bank, and finds that the Broad Street eatery manages to pull off an eclectic menu while adding “an effervescent buzz” to the downtown.

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