Borough Receives Grant For “Green” Health Center

CARTERET—The borough will receive $100,000 towards construction of Carteret’s highly anticipated health center, Mayor Dan Reiman and county officials announced last week.

The project, which was first announced in 2007, is now through its planning stages, according to Reiman, and with approximately $10.6 million in funding secured to date, a ground-breaking has been scheduled for April 21.

Because of overwhelming county and state support, the project has evolved beyond its initial design to incorporate “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) elements during construction and the daily operation of the facility. These include:

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Scouts Plan River Clean-Up Event

CLARK – Cub Scout Pack 30 and Boy Scout Troop 330 are already planning this year’s annual Earth Week Rahway River clean-up event. The scouts and other volunteers will work together to remove litter and debris from the Rahway River on Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This year, the cleanup will focus on a section of the North Branch of the Rahway River upstream and downstream of the dam at Winfield Park. Organizers hope to have enough volunteers to work as far upstream as the Garden State Parkway and as far downstream as the Rahway River Park in Clark and Rahway.

Volunteers will assemble at the parking area adjacent to the waterfall of the Rahway River by the dam at Winfield Park at 8:45 a.m. The county provides gloves and garbage bags, and the scouts solicit donations of donuts, bagels, coffee, bottled water and handwipes for participants. Volunteers should wear jeans, long-sleeved shirts, gloves and boots. Each participant is also asked to bring a standard five-gallon bucket with a handle to carry debris and transfer it to the large garbage bags.

For more information, email rivercleanup@comcast.net. Last year, more than 250 people volunteered their time to help in the effort.

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“I Love You, Man” – Mandatory Viewing – 3 popcorns

 by Michael S. Goldberger, film critic  

Because in truth there is humor, in “I Love You, Man” there is hilarity. Mining an untapped wealth of philosophy about male friendship, director John Hamburg, who co-wrote the screenplay with Larry Levin, sprinkles his farcical little gem with profundity. He signaled his talent in “Along Came Polly” (2004). But this is his breakthrough film. 

Starring Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven, a prospective bridegroom who suddenly realizes he hasn’t a best friend to stand up for him, there is a casting off of convention. Indeed, iconic classics like “Gunga Din” (1939) have long celebrated the great sacrifice and devotion comrades in arms are capable of exhibiting. But something was always amiss. 

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Brooklyn Botanic Garden Plans Sakura Matsuri

BROOKLYN—From April 4 to May 10, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) celebrates Hanami, the Japanese cultural tradition of viewing and cherishing each moment of the cherry blossom season, from the first buds to the pink blossoms that fall like enchanted, delicate snow.

During Hanami, visitors can track the cherry display using Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s award-winning website’s CherryWatch feature, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m., take a Seasonal Highlights Tour focusing on the ethereal beauty of cherry blossoms. The Zagat-rated Terrace Café will offer a selection of special Japanese entrées throughout the season, and the Garden Gift Shop will present an exceptional Hanami Collection at the Gift Shop, both in the garden and online at shop.bbg.org.

Popularly referred to as “New York’s rite of spring,” the garden’s two-day cherry blossom festival, Sakura Matsuri, is scheduled for May 2 and 3, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, with over 50 performances, demonstrations, and exhibits—many of which are new and especially created for the dynamic weekend celebration. Visitors of all ages are welcome.

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