Fireworks and Parades

Lest we forget the reason for the fireworks and the parades. And for the bonus round: give us your best Declaration of Independence tweet as Thomas Jefferson, 140 characters or less.

-- Here's the deal: you govern only because we say so, and now we say you don't. By the way, we're all equal. See you at Bunker Hill. #fourth

Newark's second Go Newark Restaurant Week, an 11-day discount-dining program, begins July 6 and will continue through July 16. Building on the success of last year's program, 30 restaurants will participate and showcase the quality and diversity of Newark's vast dining establishments.

Continue reading "Go Newark Restaurant Week begins July 6" »

The concert and fireworks display scheduled for July 2 in Brookdale Park, which was canceled due to wet ground conditions, will be rescheduled, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. said. Details are yet to be announced.

See our list of July 4 fireworks and celebrations here.

Conservatives across the country have latched onto the symbolism of the Boston Tea Party in the past for political protests, and, with July 4 looming, more tea party rallies are expected this weekend, including in New Jersey.

Continue reading "Tea Party Rallies Expected Across NJ on July 4" »

"I said a hip hop, the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, a you don't stop the rock it to the bang bang boogie, say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat."

Familiar lyrics to many and possible fodder for local author Pam Satran's How Not to Act Old blog, the Sugar Hill Gang, of Rapper's Delight fame (see above lyrics) is coming to the 'burbs.

Continue reading "Sugar Hill Gang to Headline MHS Music Festival" »

You really do have to feel sorry for Joe DiVincenzo having to make that call yesterday about the fireworks in Brookdale Park. There were enough brief periods of brilliant sunshine in between the torrential downpours to want to believe the weather would come through.

It looks like nobody will have to make such agonizing decision on July 4th itself -- because weather forecasts are calling for a beautiful weekend. High of 80 both Saturday and Sunday, sunny and just a 10 percent chance of rain. Today's forecast is a little more problematic. Expect the same erratic sun and thunderstorms that have been the weather story all week.

What are you planning for the holiday weekend? Besides coming to see us in the Montclair parade tomorrow, of course. Here's our list of everything going on.

Weather graphic from weather.com.

UPDATE: The concert and fireworks in Brookdale Park have been cancelled for tonight. The Reticents concert at Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center is also cancelled.

As of 3 p.m., everything is still a go for tonight's events at Brookdale Park. Essex County's Public Information Department has a phone number you can call to check before going out tonight. Call 973-268-3500, and select option #4. A message about the status of the event will be left on this line. We'll also update if we learn of any cancellations.

This email blast went out to Montclair High School parents...

Unfortunately there is a problem with the report cards that were mailed yesterday. There was an error in the printing process and many of the report cards are missing grades with the exception of the final grades. We are aware of the problem and it is being worked on. The report cards will be reprinted and remailed when the corrections have been made. We apologize for any inconvenience and want to assure you the problem will be corrected as soon as possible. Thank you.

The only missing grades I remember were the ones you could make disappear with Eraser mate pens. Good times...

Meanwhile next year, you'll be able to check your child's grades and attendance in real time...

Continue reading "Dude, Where's My Grades?" »

Looking for a close, affordable weekend getaway, Kristen at Barista Kids drove to Vernon, NJ. She was joined there by a momma black bear and her cubs. Meanwhile, we hear that a bear attacked a man in Vernon, NJ, last Friday. The furry perp knocked him down and stole his sandwich (we're not sure if the bear prefers hoagie, grinder or sub). Read more at Barista Kids.

Photo by Bing Ramos

Bike Montclair has a new symbol and is promoting its "Safe Streets" campaign. Adult cyclists--and this town has many--don't always wear helmets. Neither do our kids, according to new reports, even though they are supposed to according to NJ state law. Do kids think helmets are geeky? Do you? Sound off on bicycle helmets at Barista Kids.

Lt. James J. Carlucci of Montclair Police provides the following road closure information for the Fourth:

On 07-04-09, Montclair will be hosting its annual 4th of July Day Parade. The time frame is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The route will be South Fullerton Ave & The Crescent

(Staging area) to Bloomfield Ave, westbound on Bloomfield Ave to Midland Ave, northbound on Midland Ave to Watchung Ave, and ending on Valley Road. The staging area and surrounding streets will be closed starting at 9:00 a.m. The following streets will be closed to vehicular traffic

** South Fullerton from Gates Ave to Bloomfield Ave.

** Bloomfield Ave from North & South Willow Street to North & South Mountain Ave.

** Midland Ave from Bloomfield Ave to Watchung Ave.

** Valley Road from Berkley Ave to Brookfield Road.

Alternate Routes:

North and South Traffic: Use Upper Mountain, North Mountain, South Mountain, Grove and Elm

East and West Traffic: Use Gates, Llewellyn and any street south of Llewellyn. Use Gordonhurst, Bellevue and any street north of Bellevue.

Just in time for the 4th of July weekend; news that medical waste has been washing up at area beaches. Syringes, condoms, cell phone cases and more have been spotted by beach goers. From the Star Ledger...

The debris was found from Barnegat Light to Surf City on Sunday. However, the Long Beach Island Health Department did not release information about the incident until Wednesday because director Tim Hilferty said it was cleaned up by Monday morning.

Which NJ beaches have you found to be cleaner than others?

Reported Burglary at Wat-Chung Chinese Restaurant
Police received a report of a burglary overnight on June 26 at 10.55am at Wat-Chung Chinese Restaurant in Watchung Plaza. The owner closed the restaurant at about 10.30pm on June 25, and had locked the front and rear doors. At about 10.45am on June 26, upon arriving at the restaurant, he discovered the storm door open and the rear door ajar, with the cash register inside wide open and all its currency missing. No other items were missed. The front door remained locked and windows were intact. Police observed damage to the rear door but the suspected crime scene could not be processed as the arrival of employees had contaminated it. Police are investigating the case. Staff of nearby stores reported no suspicious activity or were closed at the time of the alleged burglary.

Continue reading "Spree of Burglaries in Montclair" »

The Oskar Schindler Center for the Performing Arts is showcasing the Reticents on Thursday night. You know the Reticents--the fabulous band made up of some of Montclair's finest musicians.

Continue reading "An Evening Under the Stars With The Reticents" »

It was more fun than most press conferences, with County Essex Joe DiVincenzo donning a hard hat and actually taking over the controls of the big yellow excavator. It took a while, but DiVincenzo eventually took a nice hunk out of the Essex County Hospital, aka Overbrook Asylum, which is being demolished to become passive parkland. The former psychiatric hospital, in ruins, has been a popular destination for teenagers, photographers and ghost hunters -- although the Essex County Sheriff has cracked down on trespassing recently. Better parkland than new condos or another strip mall, but still it's kind of sad to see it go.

A digital camera was left in the front booth at Friendly's on the afternoon of Thursday, June 18. It is a brown Canon Digital Elph in a red/black case with charger, extra battery, and memory cards. A reward is being offered, no questions asked. If you have any information about the camera and/or memory cards, please send an email here.

To have a lost or found item posted on Baristanet, send an e-mail to lostandfound@baristanet.com and your item will be included in next week's "Lost and Found" roundup.

Sure, it looks creepy enough to be a haunted theme park now, but today, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced plans for the second phase of demolishing the former Essex County Hospital Center buildings, paving the way for his grander plans -- transforming the 90-acre property into the County's newest park. Baristanet's Deb Galant was there and spoke with DiVincenzo; more on that story later today.

Town manager Joe Hartnett has a contract that expires at the end of this year. To those watching one of the more heated council meetings, it would be surprising to think the council would renew the contract. So Hartnett leaving isn't surprising, but his discussing it publicly before matters were resolved was, says councilor Kathryn Weller.

"It was an unresolved personnel matter, so I was surprised that he would comment on it before matters were resolved. We were still in negotiations," says Weller.

According to Weller, Hartnett sent the letter to various department heads and provided a copy of the letter to the Montclair Times. The council only learned of the letter after hearing it had been disseminated to others.

As far as the council's plans for hiring a new town manager, Weller expects information regarding that to be discussed in detail at Tuesday's council meeting. Though Weller would not comment on these negotiations, it certainly suggests that Hartnett might be leaving earlier than December 31, if negotiations can be reached regarding the balance of his contract.

Been wondering what's coming to the newly renovated Olympic building? The New Sun Spa moves from its location on Lorraine into its new digs. Joining the tanning emporium and Jafajems, who is combining their Church Street and Valley Road locations into one large store on the ground level, is Anytime Fitness, a gym open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That's good because you'll want to work out if you become a regular at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The chain is opening in the old Olympic space as well; back story on the Arlington, VA-born burger chain here.

Five Guys is the latest in a Jersey burger boite invasion. For more on that, go to Food.