Community Corner

Newsworthy: What's the Story in R-FH?

A look back at last week's news and what's to come this week in the Rumson-Fair Haven area

Well, R-FHers, the sun is shining after one spate of erratic weather; and, all sorts of stories are brewing in the area.

What’s been going on intertwined with what’s ahead …

• We’ve been following . We talked to his dad, Fair Haven Borough Councilman Eric Jaeger, when he returned from watching his son win in the Olympic trials in Nebraska enough to secure a spot on the USA team in the London summer games.

Find out what's happening in Rumson-Fair Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Then we paid a visit to . Oh, and, of course, we got family dog Stella’s input, too.

, so we got an update from his dad and let people know what he’s up to and where to find the blog.

Find out what's happening in Rumson-Fair Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Then there are our .

Tomorrow we’ll be featuring a story on Jaeger in his community and his family’s gratitude for the place where they live and its people as they get set to head to London.

• Last week we also explored the controversial issue of . We talked with Jim Fitzmaurice, chairman of the Rumson Historic Commission, about the ins and outs and pros and cons of historic preservation and what exactly is involved. 

This week we’ll explore zoning in Rumson and Fair Haven and why, many residents say, there appear to be more subdivisions than ever and tear-downs of small or modest homes to be replaced with much larger or multiple houses on one or subdivided lots.

The development dilemma will be our focus this week. Is it a necessary, progressive move and good sign for the economy or a push for higher income demographics and tax revenue?

• On the subject of , we found out that there were only 10 proven cases in the district, but 48 reported. We will ask how the number ended up so much lower after investigating the reports.

• We also featured some tidbits about a , asking people to tell us who she is and regale us with stories about her. Well, we were flooded with comments and emails full of compliments for none other than longtime Fair Havenite and pianist Teddie Caulfield.

Every comment had a special story about how Teddie has enhanced lives and entertained many grateful people in the area. Look for a feature on Teddie in the future when we visit her at one of her gigs.

• Today we have a story on new hires and renewed contracts in the Fair Haven school district. Is it a case of too much administration at too high a cost or the district’s way of abiding by state edicts to keep in step with anti-bullying initiatives? Tell us in the comments section.

More for this week and coming weeks …

• We are trying to find out exactly when Rumson Police Chief Richard Tobias is retiring. We heard it’s sometime in September or October. We also heard that his replacement has been decided, but not for public knowledge yet. We’ll check that out.

• There’s a Rumson resident who has been rallying for people to slow down on West River Road, where speed limits change from 40 to 30 miles per hour in a couple of blocks and, he claims, many people speed and drive carelessly at times. We chatted with him, and we’ll tell you what he’s up to.

• Affordable housing is an issue that has been wrought with controversy in Rumson. There are several components to it; and we have been working on a few pieces exploring the news on pending housing in Rumson and the rules and income qualifications, which may be much higher than you anticipated. Is affordable housing affordable?

• They’re changing their report cards and the grading system around in Fair Haven schools to provide “a more comprehensive view” of students’ performance, Superintendent Kathleen Cronin said. We’ve talked to her about it and will let you know what’s going on and the intent of the change, which, she said is a work-in-progress.

• The are due to release their records for the month. Keep watch. We will explore anything that warrants a bigger story.

• We don’t know what we’ll feature in this week’s opinion piece, but it could be anything — food, interesting people in town, or reminiscing — so find out on Friday.

Also, expect some photo galleries of interesting sights and happenings. And, let us know if you hear of anything we may want to look into.

That’s what’s going on in the Rumson-Fair Haven area. See ya ‘round town! ;)


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