The award-winning Monmouth Civic Chorus will present Joy to the World: Your Favorites from Handel’s Messiah and the RJB Holiday Suite on Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. at Meridian Health Theatre, Count Basie Center for the Arts, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank.
The show includes an annual performance of Artistic Director Dr. Ryan James Brandau’s Suite. There will be selections from Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Mass in B minor, plus holiday classics like “Silent Night,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” and “Auld Lang Syne,” according to a press release.
The chorus of more than 80 voices will be joined by a full professional orchestra and guest soloist soprano Claire Leyden.
Tickets for premium seating are $50 adult, $40 senior, $35 group (10 or more), $20 student; and for regular seating, $35 adult, $32 senior, $30 group, $15 student.
All singers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Count Basie Center for the Arts no longer requires audience members to show proof of vaccination. Masking is encouraged, but not required. Tickets and information are available at monmouthcivicchorus.org or 732-933-9333.
The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University, in collaboration with the Basie Center, will host “An Evening with David Sancious” at The Vogel, Red Bank, on Jan. 6. Appearing with Sancious will be Living Colour drummer and multi-Grammy winner Will Calhoun.
“We are proud to present David Sancious in concert, marking the Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music’s first public program of 2023,” Archives Director Eileen Chapman said. “David’s contributions to the E Street Band in the early 1970s are well-known and his recordings as a solo artist are highly regarded.”
Sancious was an original member of the E Street Band, having participated in the recording of Springsteen’s first two albums, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J” and “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle.” His richly original, jazz inspired keyboard work helped define Springsteen’s early sound, according to a press release.
“I am really happy to return to the Jersey Shore,” said Sancious. “Playing under the banner of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music makes the show even more rewarding for me.”
Tickets are on sale now. For ticket information, visit https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1D005D629D3A1179
An English teacher at Red Bank Regional High School, Little Silver, has been charged with having a long-term sexual relationship with a former student, starting when she was enrolled at the high school, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Nov. 14.
Michael F. Canning, 41, of Long Branch, has been charged with second degree sexual assault, second degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth degree criminal sexual contact, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
An investigation involving members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and the Red Bank Police Department revealed the alleged criminal conduct by Canning began in 2015 when the girl was a junior at the high school and extended into 2019, according to the press release.
On numerous occasions during that time, Canning allegedly engaged in sexual acts with the girl at locations in Red Bank, Little Silver and Shrewsbury.
Canning was arrested without incident in Oceanport on Nov. 12 and initially placed in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township. According to the press release, the matter remains under investigation.
The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners has announced that a Holiday Made in Monmouth event will take place on Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Robert J. Collins Arena on the campus of Brookdale Community College, Lincroft.
“The Holiday Made in Monmouth is a one-stop shop with a variety of vendors and products for everyone on your holiday shopping list,” said Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone. “This free event helps promote and support our small businesses while encouraging visitors to shop local as they prepare for the holiday season.”
The event is free for vendors and visitors. All vendors who participate in the event manufacture their products in Monmouth County. More than 150 vendors will showcase a variety of jewelry, art, food and drink, accessories, home decor, and much more, according to a press release.
To learn more about the Made in Monmouth program and to view a directory of more than 200 vendors who have participated in program events, visit www.MadeinMonmouth.com.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) is calling on New Jersey fifth through eighth grade students to enter the PDFNJ Middle School PSA Scriptwriting and Video Challenge to have a chance to win $1,000 and have their video shared across PDFNJ social media as part of the peer-to-peer substance use messaging.
The PDFNJ Middle School PSA Challenge, supported by Bridges Network, is seeking middle school students to create a 30-second public service announcement with a substance use prevention message, according to a press release.
The premise of the challenge is based on the understanding that peer-to-peer messages help children better cope with peer pressure when it comes to substance abuse or misuse
Entries for the Middle School PSA Challenge will be accepted from now through March 31. Judging will be based on the prevention message, peer-to-peer relatability and the ability to produce a video. The winners will be announced in the spring. For information about how to enter, visit https://www.drugfreenj.org/mspsa/
Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation (S-721) into law with a goal of strengthening the state’s threat response infrastructure by enhancing security requirements for large venues.
The legislation requires certain public venues and places of worship to submit emergency plans to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of preparing for mass casualty and active shooter events, according to a Nov. 14 press release from Murphy’s office.
The bill requires sports and entertainment facilities capable of seating more than 5,000 people, movie theaters capable of seating more than 1,000 people, and places of worship capable of seating more than 500 people to annually prepare and maintain an emergency operations plan in coordination with the appropriate local fire, law enforcement and emergency response agencies, according to the press release.
The emergency operations plan must be submitted to the chief law enforcement officer who serves the municipality in which the sports and entertainment facility, movie theater or place of worship is located, according to the press release.
” … It is clear we must do everything in our power to protect our communities and our residents from the senseless gun violence that plagues our country,” Murphy said.
“The gun violence epidemic underscores the critical need for state, local and community partners to work together to ensure the highest standards of public safety are being met.
“This legislation will enhance security requirements for New Jersey’s public venues and places of worship so law enforcement agencies can be best prepared to handle threats and respond to emergencies,” he said.
On Nov. 15, the members of the New Jersey Fish and Game Council voted to approve emergency regulations amending the Game Code and adopting a new Comprehensive Black Bear Management Plan (CBBMP) to control the state’s black bear population and reduce the threat of dangerous encounters between bears and humans through regulated hunting and non-lethal management measures.
Following the council’s vote, the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approved the new CBBMP and agreed with the council’s finding that a hunt is necessary in December to protect the safety of residents, according to a press release from Gov. Phil Murphy’s office.
Murphy then concurred with the council’s finding and signed Executive Order No. 310, which rescinds a prior executive order from 2018 which instructed the commissioner to take action to protect black bears on state-owned land.
In accordance with Executive Order No. 310, the commissioner then rescinded the DEP’s prior Administrative Order which prohibited the hunting of black bears on all state-owned land, according to the press release.
“The facts on the ground have shown we cannot rely on non-lethal methods alone to protect residents from a growing black bear population,” said Murphy. “Today’s actions will facilitate the reinstatement of a regulated black bear hunt this year to help limit dangerous interactions between people and bears to protect public safety.”
According to the press release, the action was taken in response to an increase in the black bear population and a rise in black bear incidents of 237% from January through October as compared to the same time period in 2021. These incidents include 62 aggressive encounters with humans, 89 instances of property damage, and attacks on livestock and pets.