Glenfield Student Suspended for Swiss Army Knife

Outpost in the Burbs is offering two pairs of free tickets to Friday night's concert of Barry Mitterhoff and Silk City. Just be one of the first two people to tell us how Silk City got its name. The concert, this Friday, March 12, is at 8 pm. Tickets are $25 in advance and $29.50 on the day of the event. UPDATE: These tickets have been awarded.

Later today, check our Facebook page for a ticket giveaway to see the Celtic Tenors at SOPAC this Saturday at 8 pm.

Meanwhile, the Montclair Arts Council is running a contest to give away four tickets to see Bill Cosby at the Wellmont in April. Enter here.

Forget spring, let's just jump straight to summer. You'll find a discussion of local swim club options over at Barista Kids.

Pictured: The Colony Swim Club in Chatham, an inexpensive sand-bottomed pool with a country feel -- for those who don't mind the drive.

Yes, we're all seeing little flowers sprouting, but for me the surest sign of spring is the way people flock to the parks. Sunday, Mista Barista and I went bicycling along the Saddle River Bike Path, which we shared with scores of cyclists, baby strollers, walkers and rollerbladers. Yesterday afternoon, I spotted this red balloon caught in a tree in Brookdale Park -- undoubtedly the detritus of a weekend expedition.

This weekend, believe it or not, is the start of Daylight Savings Time. What's your favorite non-botanical sign of spring?

Ever wonder whether you make as much money as the other people on your block? Have as much sex? Or even own as many shoes?

Then you may enjoy visiting a new website, StackMeUp, created by Glen Ridge resident and adman Sean Looney.

Yes, Looney admits, he's always been competitive. But he says his just-launched site isn't about that. The genesis was one of those "Are we doing okay?" conversations he had with his wife Debra a few years ago. They were, as it turned out, but it wasn't easy for Sean to find the data to prove it. That turned into a business idea: aggregate data in one place to make comparative searches easy.

Continue reading "StackMeUp Answers "How'm I Doing?"" »

Councilors Cary Africk and Renee Baskerville were the lone dissenters Tuesday night on a measure authorizing Montclair to use eminent domain to acquire an abandoned lot next to the Montclair Police Department for use as a police parking lot.

Deputy mayor Roger Terry quoted the township attorney as saying that the lot's owner had not been cooperative in responding to the town's offers to buy the lot, saying that an eminent domain authorization was needed "to wake the owner up."

Continue reading "Council Authorizes Eminent Domain for Parking Lot; Passes Quiet Zone" »

The Montclair town council will vote tonight on starting an eminent domain process that will allow the town to seize a private lot behind police headquarters.

The town has made offers for the lot, but the owner, Frank Cerino, who also runs DeCozen Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge on Bloomfield Avenue, doesn't believe the town has offered him a fair price yet, the Montclair Times reported.

Continue reading "Montclair Votes on Eminent Domain" »

Eight counts of criminal mischief, five of which happened to cars, took place between March 1-7. A Farrand Street resident reported on March 1 that someone had smashed the driver side rear window of her car then pried open the gas door and pour sugar into the gas tank. The victim said she believes she knows who did this to her car but can't prove it. There is a video camera in the lot and it will be checked to if the damage was recorded.

A car on Hoover Avenue and on Berkley Avenue had their tires punctured throughout the night on March 3. Cars continued to get the brunt of the mischief on March 7 on Donald Street with reports of a car windshield smashed on Donald Street and a car's hood, driver's side door and hood of the car were scratched on Ella Street. Another car was scratched on the entire length of the driver side on Spruce Street that was parked on the street.

Continue reading "Bloomfield Police Blotter: Criminal Mischief and Theft" »

Sports Illustrated journalist, Selena Roberts will speak to my Sports in Society class this Thursday. Roberts is best known for breaking Alex Rodriguez's steroid use to being accused of being stalker.

If you've ever wanted to ask Roberts anything, whether it is about her career or standing by her coverage of the Duke lacrosse team rape charges in 2006, here is your chance.

Leave your questions in a comment and I'll be picking some of the best to ask her on Thursday night for your own Baristanet exclusive.

Thanks to reader Pat Gilleran for giving us a heads up on the temporary closing of the large dog enclosure of the Brookdale Dog Park for renovations.

The large dog enclosure of the Brookdale Dog Park, a very popular gathering place for dogs of all sizes and their human companions, will be closed for a maximum of three weeks with its reopening scheduled for April 1, 2010. The small dog park will remain open.

Continue reading "Brookdale Dog Park to be Closed for Renovations" »

Could you go a day without your Blackberry or television or teach your kids how to do it? Find out what some parents are doing to de-tech their children on Barista Kids.

Along with the extra money that NJ Transit will be getting through their record-setting 25 percent fare increase, NJT can also add $52.4 million in stimulus funds to their budget.

Over $15 million of the funds will be spent on the west side of Newark Penn Station, for exterior pedestrian and traffic upgrades and more than $36 million will go towards construction of a new intermodal station and parking area in Pennsauken, Camden County, NJ.com said. The construction will allow passengers to transfer to Atlantic City Line rail and local bus services.

NJT said the money has already been assigned and can't offset the hiked up fare prices that will go in effect May 1. Do you think this is the best way NJT could be spending their newfound millions?

Montclair State University made the 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its volunteering and community service efforts.

The Honor Roll, which is the highest federal recognition a college can receive, chooses its recipients based on service projects, the percentage of students who participated and service-learning courses offered at the university.

Continue reading "MSU Makes National Honor Roll" »

Five years ago, we took a picture of this cake as 12 Miles West, the theater company named for its distance from Manhattan, celebrated its triumphant relocation from a space downstairs from the Clairidge theater to a former movie palace in Bloomfield. There were two mayors in attendance, speeches and champagne. Less than three years later, 12 Miles West had to move again, this time another 16 miles west to share space with Playwrights Theatre in Madison. Now Playwrights' home is on the market. Yesterday, a sad letter arrived in our mailbox, announcing that 12 Miles West was suspending its current season -- "going into hibernation" in the company's own words -- and that artistic director Lenny Bart had taken a job as artistic director of Pushcart Players.

Continue reading "The Party's Over For 12 Miles West" »

March 2: At 5:20pm, police received a report that a juvenile had been assaulted during a dispute at a residence on Bloomfield Ave in Glen Ridge. It wasn't immediately clear whether the other party involved was adult or juvenile, said Lt. Robert Wohlgemuth. Police are investigating.

March 4: At 11:40am, a security investigator at Wachovia Bank on Bloomfield Ave. reported a suspect, who had been under surveillance, in a theft and forgery case at the bank. The suspect stole $16,000, Lt. Wohlgemuth said. Officers placed a man, 37, of Glen Ridge, under arrest for forgery and theft. Details were taken at police HQ and the man was later released from custody. He will be tried in court.

March 7: At 2:55pm, a Bloomfield Ave. business reported to police that a man, 6 feet tall, of thin build, and wearing a red jacket, tried to pass counterfeit money and fled when confronted. Police are investigating.

GRPD's Lt. Wohlgemuth said the following incidents, which happened at around the same time in the evening and within close proximity of each other, may be related.

He added, "In the past, burglaries have taken place where someone rings a doorbell, doesn't get a response, and enters the premises, thinking no one is home."

Continue reading "Glen Ridge Blotter: Assault, Theft, Forgery" »

An attempt to juggle kids, several jobs, and life, by one of our own, is featured in Redbook. Read all about it on Barista Kids.

Bloomfield residents will vote on Tuesday on plans to improve the 76-year-old stadium at Foley Field after a safety review deemed its concrete stands unstable and in need of removal. The board of education picked the lowest bid of $2.9 million for the field's makeover.

The board plans to install an all-weather turf and an 8-lane running track at the stadium, which has been a center for sports and recreation in Bloomfield for decades. The turf will be used for sports and by the high school marching band.

Each household will bear a burden of about $42 a year over five years, by which time the $2.9 million in issued notes will be paid off. In 2006, the town overwhelmingly gave the thumbs-down to a referendum to have the stadium fixed or $4.9 million.

Continue reading "Bloomfield to Vote on Foley Field Tuesday" »

Little Saigon, which vanished from Elm St. in Montclair in November, has found a new lease of life elsewhere. Read about it on Food.

If you drive around town and marvel at Baristaville's painted ladies, you're probably admiring some of the many "canvases" of Amy Wax. The color brains behind Your Color Source, Wax has won the 2010 Hue Award for Residential Exteriors, becoming the first color consultant to win the prestigious Hue Award. Congrats to Amy (and thanks for helping me find the colors that made the hideous blue exterior on my house from the previous owner a distant memory).

As commuters digested NJ Transit's plan, announced Friday, to hike fares by a whopping 25% beginning May 1, many were shocked and upset as they pondered the implications of the rise on their own already-tight budgets.

"Oh my hell, I can't handle it," said Mary, a mother of two who commutes from Montclair to NY Penn Station. "In the context of the huge tax increases in general over the past few years, the budget cuts at the schools and now this, I just can't take it."

"It's a pretty intensive increase," she said. "My living costs have soared but meanwhile, my pay hasn't gone up in two years. I'm definitely going to ask for a pay rise!"

NJ Transit said it would trim 32 of 725 commuter trains, with at least 2 trains cut from each of its 11 lines. Bus and light rail customers will also be affected by the service reductions. The moves are part of a bid by the company to address an estimated operating budget deficit of about $300 million for fiscal 2011.

Commuters will still be able to take advantage of discounted travel by buying monthly passes, NJT said. But 10-trip bus discounts will be capped at 15% off the full-fare price.

"25% is quite a sizeable hike," said Leah, who has three children and commutes daily to and from Hoboken. "It's not going to make me change my travel arrangements because I still have to get to work, and the alternative is driving, which involves parking costs. But has someone reviewed their budget to see if this is the best option?"

Continue reading "NJT Fare-Hike Plan Dismays Penny-Pinched Commuters" »