   WRECKING STORM TAXES EMERGENCY CREWS
A nearly uninterrupted stream of emergency calls had police, firefighters and medical personnel jumping Saturday afternoon. Heavy rain driven by high winds knocked down trees, limbs, power lines and traffic lights in the Red Bank region. Here’s a sampling of what redbankgreen saw on a short spin through the area.  COCKROACH VIDEO NETS MIDDLE SCHOOL $3KBy DUSTIN RACIOPPI In the nationwide rat race — or, to be taxonomically precise, the rodent, termite, mosquito and cockroach race — Red Bank Middle School students stand alone. On Thursday, they collected the grand prize of $3,000 in the first national contest to create a public service announcement for the National Pest Management Association. Their winning entry, “Club Roach,” may be broadcast nationwide, a spokeswoman for the group says. Two other entries submitted by the middle school also finished in the top five.  WET WEEKEND EXPECTED
The good news? You won’t be shoveling snow this weekend. But unless you’re a frog, there’s not a lot to like about the National Weather Service forecast for our area: Today: Periods of rain, mainly after 9am. High near 45. East wind between 13 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.  NEW LIBRARIAN JUST A ‘GROWN-UP KID’
Yes, that’s the new children’s librarian, Samantha Quintas, who added yoga classes to the program. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi) By DUSTIN RACIOPPI Samantha Quintas has a tattoo on her right wrist that reads “In Libris Libertas.” It translates from Latin as “In books there is freedom.” You might say she was destined to be where she is today, as head of the children’s library at Red Bank Public Library. But it wasn’t a clear path to West Front Street. Despite her love of books, Quintas, 24, wasn’t always so eager to master the Dewey Decimal system or spend hours re-stocking shelves. In fact, it was the latter that almost drove Quintas to find a different career.  McCARTER TREES GETTING AXED FOR SAFETY
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI The scene at Fair Haven’s McCarter Park is something like an environmentalist’s nightmare: Big, gas-guzzling trucks getting loaded up with freshly chopped-down trees. Yes, it’s an unfortunate sight, but it’s going to get better, says Elizabeth Lilleston, chairwoman of the Shade Tree Commission. The long-planned rejuvenation project is being done this week for safety reasons, and all the trees being removed will be replaced, Lilleston told redbankgreen. McCarter Park is directly across from Viola L. Sickles School and has a popular playground. The chance of a tree limb falling and hitting somebody has been a concern for a while, she said. “We’re not taking them out because we want to, but we’re taking them out because they’re a safety issue,” she said. “A lot of damage has been done to these trees.”  WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS?
“Easy one. Scranton PA, Dunder Mifflin coffee break room.”  IN oRBit: INCIDENT IN A DARKENED ROOM
Today’s edition of our satellite site has an interview with award winning mystery novelist, recovering newspaperman and RBC grad Wallace Stroby, on films noir, novels and the no-man’s-land between. The author of such Shore-based suspensers as Heartbreak Lounge and The Barbed Wire Kiss visits Asbury Park’s Showroom this Sunday, to present a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s classic caper The Killing and to talk Noir with oRBit editor Tom Chesek. We’ve got the lowdown on this hardboiled entry in the BookFLX series, along with a pre-screening conversation with Stroby, ONLY in Red Bank oRBit!  BUILDER FLOATS WEST SIDE STRIP MALL
A Red Bank builder plans to go before the borough planning board next week seeking feedback on a project that’s still in the “concept” phase: a shopping center on Shrewsbury Avenue at Drs. James Parker Boulevard. General contractor Russ Crosson requested the hearing, at which board members are expected to offer their concerns, but won’t hold an up-or-down vote, says planning office director Donna Smith Barr. Crosson tells redbankgreen he’s trying to determine if it’s worth going ahead with a formal proposal. “We’re going to put it in front of them,” says Crosson, whose office is in a house he recently gutted and restored on Wallace Street. “If they say no, I can massage some other ideas.” IN oRBit: SEE WHO’S BOOKED ON RIVER ROAD
It’s a policy that’s helped the intimately-scaled indie store strengthen its brand in a world of steamrolling stripmall superstores and virtual-volume vultures. And it’s back in full force this Thursday, as POZ Magazine editor-in-chief Regan Hofmann (above) visits Fair Haven for a signing and discussion of her memoir I Have Something to Tell You — a chronicle of how a young woman who “had it all” concealed from the world the fact that she also had HIV. The author action continues on Saturday with Little Silver’s own picture-book creator and self-styled “phoDOGrapher” Kim Levin stopping in to promote her new book DogPlay. After that, the River Road crew presents a pleasantly surprising, long-awaited homecoming by someone who’s been out of the public eye for far too long — but rather than spoil the surprise, why not just take it over to Red Bank oRBit, where this late-winter’s week continues to come on like a literary lion! FAIR HAVEN WAIVES PARKING FUND FEES
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI Fair Haven’s borough council this week waived $25,000 in fees that might have been charged to the owner of three prominent properties in town. The reason, according to Mayor Mike Halfacre: “It’s sort of being a good neighbor type of thing.”
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Workers at McCarter Park Wednesday load a truck with one of the many trees being removed this week. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)
The Nauvoo Grill, on Fair Haven Road, would save on parking fees if its request for outdoor dining is approved. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)
