Ok, some of us are stuck on tradition, some of us follow the crowds, how do you like to bring in the New Year? Lookin' at the past, or toward the future? In small company, or surrounded by many? At home or on the road? Food or Frolic? A favorite cocktail? Tell us what will be rocking your evening tonight.
Looking for something Bloomfield-centric to check out today before the ball drops tonight and the champagne pops? Well, check out News 12's New Jersey Challenge, where a team of Bloomfield High students face off against students from Ridgefield Park Senior High School. The show will be on at 6:30pm and 9:30pm today, and will also run tomorrow, January 1, at 6:30pm and 9:30pm again.
It's that old journalism standby, that once-a-year ritual for filling dull a news week: the top stories of the year about to end. Our addled brain came up with this list at 1:31 am. Doubtless, you could do better. Cast your vote, and use the comments to tell us what we missed.
The Barista's goal for the new year: turn into a MILF by Mother's Day. Here are Ed Remsen's, snatched straight from one of our own threads.
My hopes for 2006:
1. The troops come home
2. We don't get anymore snow
3. The geese don't return to Edgemont Park
4. The leaves stay on the trees
4. The town gets $4.5 million from the McMullen Family to renovate the Clary Anderson Arena and Essex Pool complex so we can use them year-round
5. Miss Marta loses some of that cynicism and adopts a more positive and healthier attitude.Posted by: Ed Remsen | Dec 30, 2005 10:08:32 PM
Anyone remember this one from last year?
The excitement is building around Baristaville, as the kickoff for First Night Montclair 2006 approaches. Billed as one of New Jersey's premier arts festivals, anyone who has ever attended can vouch for the energy and excitement permeating the streets on New Year's Eve. Eileen Sheehan, of the First Night Comittee, tells Baristanet that sales have been brisk, with a lot of ticket requests coming from outlying towns, and Bergen County. "Montclair should easily expect to surpass the 5,000 tickets sold at last year's event," Sheehan said.
TICKETS are available at various locations around town. If you haven't snagged yours by Saturday, they'll be available until 10 p.m. at the First Night ticket office located at 544 Bloomfield Ave (it's the old Halloween Store). To catch the opening procession beginning after Mayor Ed Remson's opening address, meet at the Christmas Tree on Church Street by 7 pm. Dixieland masters Doctor Dubious and the Agnostics will lead the way, followed by Nickelodeon's Dora & Diego, and the bigger than life Celestial Puppet with its entourage of mini revelers from Montclair Community Pre-K. Then mingle among the dazzling street artists, grab a bodacious bite, and get a seat for some of the best family entertainment ever.
The legendary Ritchie Havens, classical pianist Robin Spielberg, kids folk favorite Tom Chapin and Japanese mime artist Yass Hakoshima are a few of the 20 plus acts. Have fun, spread the cheer, and have a safe and Happy New Year!
All things being paranormal, you might be shocked, surprised,and thrilled by the powers of mentalist extraordinaire, The Amazing Kreskin. This master of hypnosis, ESP, and mind expansion, will be performing at First Night Montclair on Saturday. He claims he's been banned from casinos because of his mind reading skills, and for more than 40 years, Kreskin has been entertaining crowds all over the world with his unusual powers. He developed his clairvoyant skills at an early age right here in Montclair with his neighborhood pals and by his teens, was called "The World's Youngest Hypnotist". He's known for his accurate predictions, prophecies, and warnings -- of political outcomes to winning lottery ticket numbers. Maybe he can predict when the town's massive debt will be paid off! Go see for yourself, and tell Barista about it. With only one show -- at 7:45 pm -- it's guaranteed to be an SRO event. At the First Congregational Church Sanctuary, 40 South Fullerton.
The town is jumpin' this Saturday night; here are a few more suggestions of where to celebrate, but reserve now:
Egan & Sons has a special New Year's Eve three course prix fixe for $47.50, including a champagne aperitif. Dinner seatings are at 5:30 pm and 8 pm. You even have an excuse to start celebrating early: New Year in Dublin starts six hours earlier.
Epernay is offering a three course prix fixe for $48.50, including noisemakers and party favors. Last dinner seating is at 11 pm. Bonne annee!
Orbis has a $55 prix fixe that includes appetizers, a glass of champagne, and a scrumptous three course menu with lots of choices, including rack of lamb, fresh scallops, and veal rack. Bon appetit!
South Park's party features prizes and give aways, dancing, food specials, hats and streamers (C'mon get crazy) even a continental breakfast until 1:30 a.m. Buy drinks by the glass or a bracelet for $50 for the night.
Get jazzy at Trumpets, with dinning and dancing 'til 2 am. Their $100 four course meal includes a champagne toast at midnight and a performance by the Enrico Granafei International Quintet, featuring guest musician Ted Carson on trumpet. Ted has played with legendary jazz icon Charlie Mingus.
What was the best story of 2005? We will putting up a poll tomorrow. Let us know which LOCAL stories we should include. Please leave suggestions in the comment section.
Start the New Year off with your first good deed. First Night Montclair organizers are putting out an SOS for anyone who would like to help out during the town's biggest party of the year. Assorted volunteers and friendly faces are needed all over town, helping out as venue supervisors, greeters, announcers, runners, and parking attendants. If you want to lend a hand during the extravaganza, call 973-509-4910.
Montclair's own Little Rascals have reincarnated as The Radcats, a local group of twenty-something film makers. Take a dose of Wayne's World and a dash of Tarantino, and you've got a good idea of what the group, led by Jesse Good and David Jankowski, are all about. Camera, action! Run, fun, laugh, is their formula. Front row seats and free admission to about 12 short films can be viewed in your home; movies are produced right here in Baristaville. The 'Cats have their sights set on Sundance's short film section. "If we're succesful and make it big, we're never gonna leave New Jersey. Everything we want is right here," said Jankowski.
New York liberals -- and independent voters -- appear to be changing the political landscape of the Jersey 'burbs. Republican strongholds in towns like Millburn, Westfield, Summit and Madison are eroding as Democrats find themselves winning Council seats and even mayoral races. An influx of young families looking for luxury homes is the driving force behing the shift, academics and realtors tell today's Star Ledger :
The towns experiencing the shift are similar. They're old-money communities on commuter rail lines, each offering a pleasant blend of downtown shopping, historic homes and shade-tree neighborhoods. Until recently, they've also been some of the most reliable bastions of Republican votes in the state. Ten years ago, the four towns boasted only a single Democratic official among them. But an influx of liberal-leaning New Yorkers seems to be changing the politics of these GOP strongholds.
Joseph Marbach, chairman of Seton Hall University's political science department, said the shift is indicative of a larger state trend that can also be seen in some of South Jersey's well-to-do Philadelphia suburbs. He said successful young professionals are pouring in from the cities, bringing their liberal values and "middle-class conscience" with them. "They're pretty well off, so they can afford property taxes and they don't necessarily need a lot of services from government," Marbach said. "But they're also willing to take care of the poor; they have that middle-class conscience. So those folks are going to line up with the Democrats on a lot of those social issues."
Continue reading "New Jersey 2006 -- Year of the Democrats?" »
Modern day still life is the compelling element of photographer Eric Levin's first solo exhibition,"Corners". Levin finds beauty hidden in the clutter of everyday life, in Baristaville and beyond. Levin named this show "Corners" because "there is a corner in every picture. Corners are where things collect, are tucked away, trapped, where you find refuge" says Levin. Time Magazine art critic, Richard Lacayo, describes his work as "subtle, witty, and intricate." The show opens on January 2 at Studio Montclair's gallery on the second floor of the Clark House, Montclair Historical Society, 108 Orange Road, through January 31. An artist's reception takes place on Friday, January 13, 5-8 pm.
Can't decide where to rock 'n roll this New Year's Eve? Then you can toast with the bubbly,throw confetti, and in some cases, dance the night away. Reserve your spot at one of these local parties:
Diva Lounge, may have the biggest party in town, offering dinner, open bar, dancing, live music after midnight by hip hop masters Sugarhill Gang and festive party favors to make your New Year's so much fun, that the next day you'll say it was worth the hangover. General Manager, Erin Taggert, has promised that the Lounge won't be overcrowded, and they expect the age mix of young and young at heart to keep the fires burnin' until 4 AM! Before midnight, the three deejays will get you rocking with Old School, Hip-Hop, and Reggaeton. Have dinner & cocktails for $140 beginning at 8pm, or just come for your favorite drinks at 10:30 pm ($100). Both party packages include premium open bar featuring specialty Diva cocktails and a champagne toast at midnight. All taxes and gratuities included.
Church Street Cafe, will nourish and quench all of you First Nighters with mealtimes complicated by the top entertainment you are dying to see. Church Street Café’s Holiday Festival 2006 includes the following options: the full dinner menu, a special $50 prix-fixe menu, a first brunch from 11:30 pm until 1:30 am, as well as drinks and snacks outside. Upstairs at Church will feature dancing with the Kevin Reilly Quartet from 9:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m.
Palazzo, has a full wine bar, prix fixe menu and live jazz playing all night until the countdown to 2006. The first seating, 5-7 pm offers a 3 course menu; their second seating, from 8 pm to midnight, offers a 5 course menu, with a complimentary champagne toast.
Round Trip Fare is offering a special menu for New Year's Eve; celebrate with champagne, wine, beer or whatever strikes your fancy from the bar.
Raymond's, does not require reservations, and with dinner seatings until midnight, you can still catch both sets of Richie Havens and get a nice meal from their full menu plus specials. BYO, they'll supply the noisemakers and balloons. Can't make it that evening? Visit them for New Year's Brunch on Dec. 31st and Jan. 1.
Jump and Jive at Just Jake's, where for a $75 admission you"ll enjoy an outrageous dance band, New Power Soul, a premium open bar, hot appetizers, champagne toast, and party favors, 9:00 pm - 2:30 am.
For more dining options, go here.
We told you it was coming and now it's here. Free food frenzy at Whole Foods, so be sure and drop by for noshing on gourmet hors d'oeuvres galore, live music, sparkling cider and faux cocktails (they had trouble securing a liquor license this time -- so bring your flask!). Head over from 4-7 pm, see your Baristaville neighbors and get the partying started early for New Years Eve.
As you figure out how you will pay off your holiday spending, consider the debt facing Montclair: $187,737,097.32! Montclair Chief Financial Officer, Dianne C. Marus delivered the news at the Township Council's Dec. 27 meeting. Mayor Ed Remsen, quoted in today's Montclair Times, says the massive debt -- money the municipality has borrowed for capital project -- is manageable.
“The [$180,737,097.32] does not concern me as long as there is predictability,†Remsen said. “We feel confident about our [bonding] decisions, but don’t want to wake up one day and see major tax spikes.†In recent years Montclair has approved significant capital projects, including a high-tech new school and an upgraded Fire Department Headquarters. This year’s capital budget was $8 million. “The town has made appropriate investments in buildings and infrastructures, which is critical when looking at the whole picture,†Remsen said. “Roads are redone, schools updated and parks renovated. We are not trying to build a palace here, but streets and sewers need to be maintained. All the while, we need to remain prudent.â€
Sure, there's eateries with free wireless internet access (Panera Bread, Cafe Eclectic), but now dentists are getting savvy. Seen in the waiting room of Bloomfield tooth mistress extraordinaire, Dr. Judith Post, a "wireless internet access available" sign letting patients know they can do more than just read magazines. Where have you been able to get some good wireless action -- in and around Baristaville?
A Jersey girl defends Glen Ridge, and Alex Beam, a Boston Globe columnist, eats crow:
Two natives of Glen Ridge, N.J., objected to my calling their suburban Shangri-La a ''white-bread hell" in a column about Newton's alarming coyote infestation. (The actual text referred to a ''white-bread hell like Wayland or Glen Ridge, N.J." and, curiously, no one from Wayland complained.) ''I was born and raised in Glen Ridge," wrote Mary Beth Olbrys, ''so you can imagine my surprise to find out that I lived my first 18 years in a white-bread hell! I would be very interested to know what experience you had in Glen Ridge that brought you to that conclusion."
Now would be a good time to formally apologize to the residents of Glen Ridge, and wish them health and prosperity in the new year.
The new phonebooks dictionaries are here! Well, the words are new anyway -- a bunch of fresh jargon that the dictionary gods have deemed to be officially part of our language, even if folks have been saying them for quite a while. From the Star Ledger:
The new linguistic list is out, and the country's most popular dictionaries have added scores of newcomers to the American lexicon in a yearly exercise that says as much about the year that passed as the words we heard.
The list covers the gamut from technology (cybrarian) to culture (reggaeton). A few were already widely familiar (chick flick, brain freeze), but it was their staying power that finally won them membership in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate.
"Neoconservative" has been in the book for a while, but it won a new definition with the geopolitical times. Terrorism left its mark in the Oxford American Dictionary with the addition of "I.E.D.," for improvised explosive device.
And with the popular dictionaries including names, Lance Armstrong will be in American Heritage College Dictionary's next edition as well. But socialite and hotel heiress Paris Hilton won't be in bold type just yet, even if she was among the year's most searched names on the Internet.
What words from your lexicon would you like to see mainstreamed...
We're not the only folks less than thrilled with the five finalists for state slogans. From the New York Times, the choices are garnering a lukewarm response...
Nonetheless, New Jerseyans seemed to have an easier time finding punch lines for the five slogans than deciding on a winner, which they can do by phone at (609) 984-9893 or online at www.nj.gov/slogan. In interviews, many said that the finalists - picked by the governor from a pool of 100 semifinalists chosen from nearly 8,000 submissions - were bland and in need of a few local amendments.
In downtown Newark, China Simmons, 19, a student at Essex County College, and her grandmother, Linda Woodley, 54, made jokes about "New Jersey: The Best Kept Secret." They worried about what might be hidden, especially in a state where one of the most powerful political fund-raisers, Charles Kushner, pleaded guilty to witness tampering, tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions in connection with a scheme to videotape a New York prostitute he hired to seduce his brother-in-law.
"Anything that's a secret is probably bad," Ms. Simmons said, standing in the cold outside a Conway.
"It's like our gay governor," said Ms. Woodley, referring to James E. McGreevey, who declared himself a "gay American" last summer. "I don't have a problem with his being gay, but it sure was a New Jersey secret
In a few days, we'll know if the Baristanet pick (by poll), "Come See For Yourself" takes it.
Fowl play on Lloyd Road yesterday.
Just steps away from Montclair Kimberley and Bloomfield Ave, this group crossed the road, stopped traffic, then settled in front of their home?
They've got good taste...
Anybody need $175,000 a year? Corzine, like many governors before him, is taking a pass. From Newsday...
In the past 15 years, most New Jersey governors _ all of them career politicians, only one wealthy _ have declined their full salaries.
Corzine, a 58-year-old former Goldman Sachs CEO who is to take office Jan. 17, spent a combined $107 million of his own cash on his successful 2000 U.S. Senate campaign and this year's governor's race. Last year, Corzine's estimated net worth ranged as high as $262 million.
Said aide Andrew Pogue: "The Treasury needs it more than he does."
Department of Treasury records indicate that New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio started the trend of taking partial pay in modern times, accepting $85,000 of the statutorily mandated $130,000 annual salary. Christine Todd Whitman followed suit, as did acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco in 2001, although by then the official salary was up to $175,000. Former Gov. James E. McGreevey accepted 90 percent of his pay, or $157,000.
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, however, accepted his full $175,000 salary for the time he has served since McGreevey's resignation. An aide was quick to point out Codey has refused the salary for which he also is eligible as Senate president. Senators earn $49,000 a year, but extra pay for the president of that body brings the paycheck to $65,333.
Come on, show off. What'd you get yesterday? Or, if you prefer, what did you give?
We'll start. The Barista got a portable DVD player, two pairs of earrings, a great blouse, an antique typewriter, a cool scarf, white truffle oil, hand-embroidered pillow cases, a book, and a bracelet made out of typewriter keys.
Or as comfortable as one can get in the land of "38,000 people, 38,000 opinions." Phil Read catches up with Montclair's Joseph Hartnett in today's Star Ledger, with a love letter of sorts to the town manager.
Hartnett can rattle off a laundry list of accomplishments, not the least of which is a "zero tax increase" in this year's municipal budget. He's been behind the launch of a newsletter, part of his communication strategy; the naming of Montclair's first African-American fire chief; the re-invigorating of First Night Montclair.
"We are nowhere near where we want to be," he said. "We haven't even hit our stride yet."
Two goals -- an interactive Web site and improved cable-TV station -- remain elusive, he said. The latter is a sore point for Mattox, who sits on the cable-TV committee and is impatient with the progress. "You know what? Who's in control of it? Who's in control of the speed?"
For now, Hartnett, who in August closed on his Rockcliffe co-op overlooking Montclair, is still out scouting with his wife for real estate in his pricey new hometown of Montclair. "I think we'd prefer to be in a house," he said.
Time for complete truthiness: the Barista turns 50 today. She received this sonnet from Mista Barista, which she shares with the assembled. Happy Birthday Jesus and me too. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and Kwanzaa the night away.
Sonnet for a Half Century
Fifty's the new thirty
Thirty's the new ten
Prozac's the new 420
Feng shui is the new zenRattled's the new Potter
Grand Forks the new Duluth
Gluetrap's the new flyswatter
Fiction's the new truthPodcast's the new radio
Baghdad's the new Saigon
Wireless the new 'Wired'
Brunette is the new blonCarpe Diem, seize the day
Nothing old can stay.
No presents please. However, if you can't help yourself, what we really want is for you to pre-order RATTLED so we can see our Amazon ranking creep up from 326,251.
Christmas Eve celebrations in upper upper Montclair were interrupted last night by a huge explosion and fire, which lit up the sky around Clove and Long Hill Road (near the back entrance of Montclair State University). The Little Falls Fire Department tells us that the fire was caused by electrical wires falling down onto the street. There were no injuries and the only damage was to the road.
This is how the event was experienced by citizen-journalist Meghan Murray, who sent this picture and filed this report:
While at a Christmas Eve gathering tonight in the area where Upper Mountain meets Clove Rd. around 9pm someone suddenly screamed "CALL 911!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Panic ensued as all ran to windows to see what the hell was going on and were met with a terrifying sight: the night sky was fully illuminated and filled with smoke straight out of a doomsday or alien movie and, of course, reminiscient of our now collective memory of Sept. 11. It's kind of sad that momentarily I felt a slight relief realizing that it was't coming from NYC and was clearly much closer, and therefore unlikely to be terrorism. But still, it was obviously some sort of massive explosion to cause so much light and smoke in the sky. We went outside to be met with foul smokey air and an unnerving and vibrating buzzing sound. Just around the corner we could see a huge, shockingly bright area of fire that seemed to be coming from a downed power line or something. Police cars were everywhere and a fire truck arrived, but we didn't see any sign of an ambulance, which I hope means noone was hurt. After awhile it got cold and the cops didn't seem to be panicking, rather waiting for it all to settle down or something, so we went back inside. By the time we headed out around 11pm that section of road was still blocked off by police, but the immediate danger seemed to have passed, though the smell of smoke still hung in the air. Attached are a number of pictures I took when the fire/explosion/whatever the hell it was was still raging.
Nothing says "tasteful Christmas" better than luminaria, and Paul Zalewski recorded this graceful streetscape on Wildwood Terrace in Glen Ridge on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, the night before, a family across town on Midland Ave. had rocks thrown through their windows. The family and neighbors believe the house was targeted because its inhabitants are Japanese. Neighbors showed their support by prominently displaying signs in their own windows with the word "peace" in Japanese.
Tell us what you want, what you really really want... to see.
We're posting lightly this weekend, due to the holiday, so consider this your open thread as well.
For the second time in a week, the area around Watchung Ave and Broad Street in Bloomfield has been hit by a power outtage. This time, the area in the dark is the block that includes the IHOP, a bagel store, Annie's Nails and a gym.
(Tip called in by Anne Prince.)
Be of good cheer...
Yes, it's the season for giving, but if it's true, this is one big present. In our mailbox, this message from (or someone posing as) one Robert Chalet:
The Chalet Family of Bloomfield NJ had donated 1 million dollars to the Bloomfield education system. The Information has not officially gone public. But should be shortly. The donations had come from multiple families. The families that had donated are the dominant business owners in central Bloomfield. " New stadium to go with New school"!!!!
In Montclair, Leon DeVose II makes a statement regarding the Ted Maddox-Mayor Ed Remsen feud strong difference of opinion. From the Montclair Times' letter column:
I am not surprised by Mayor Ed Remsen’s removal of Councilman Ted Mattox from the Board of School of Estimate. It is part of his modus operandi, and the anticipated consequence of electing nearly his entire slate to the Township Council. However, I am very disturbed at the mayor’s express intolerance of and contempt for Councilman Mattox’s views. Mattox’s proposal to preserve the Washington Street “Y†is at least worth considering. The Bible says it is a foolish thing to judge a matter without hearing it. Yet, from its very first public introduction, the mayor and his most loyal council members expressed nothing but contempt for his proposal. Mattox was also damned by his two votes against the Board of Education’s budget. He rightly differed with the Board of Education’s spending plan. He was doing what nearly 3,000 Montclair voters asked him to do last year – act in their best interest. There could be no more of an advocate for our schools, but to differ with the board, its policies or actions is to commit political suicide. This is unfortunate, since the best interests of our children are not served by an unaccountable political juggernaut or a committee of nodding heads, but by the illumination of error, innovation and ideas that arises out of debate. Ousting Mr. Mattox from the Board of School Estimate was nothing less than a political pogrom designed to cleanse the board of dissent. If only Mayor Remsen would respect us enough to not deny it. Mayor Remsen’s imperious power play, especially the way it was done, was transparently vindictive and demonstrates contempt for dissent, this unsurpassed advocate for Montclair school children, and the people who voted for him.
Thanks for everybody who participated in our Festivus Challenge (and by the way, since it's Festivus, if you see Liz today, wish her a happy birthday). We had 39 correct entries, and here are the winners.
Winners: we'll be in touch with instructions about how to collect your prizes. Prize givers: thanks so much for making this so fun.
News from Trenton, Steven Plofker was appointed by Gov. Codey to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Seen at the corner of Harrison Ave. & Llewellyn Road, a sign is up for the next wave of townhouses in Montclair. Located on the site of the old Montclair Community Hospital, the development, brought to you by Continental Properties, will be called Montclair Heights. Talk about your less-than-inspired names (as well as confusing, since there is a Montclair Heights station all the way up by MSU). Somehow, it makes Hempstead sound positively imaginative.
It may be the shortest appointment in Essex County history and easily the most embarassing. From the Star Ledger:
Newly appointed Assemblywoman Evelyn Williams was arrested and charged with shoplifting at an Irvington discount store Tuesday afternoon.
Williams, a 25-year Essex County corrections officer whose salary topped out at $70,060, was caught by a security camera in the Valley Fair Super Discount Center on Chancellor Avenue putting $14.99 price tags on a $59.99 set of bedsheets and a $49.99 comforter, according to police reports.
Yesterday, after inquiries by The Star-Ledger into her other income sources, Essex County officials fired her, saying she'd been illegally collecting state retirement checks.
"We are not going to tolerate what happened in Irvington or what happened here," Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said. "Even elected officials are going to play by the same rules. Elected officials should be able to keep a higher standard."
Leaving work early today? NJ Transit is your co-conspirator. Look for additional early getaway trains and buses from Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal starting at noon.
If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas gift, or you just want to read something that will make you appreciate every moment you have on earth, even the bad ones, may we suggest "The Woman at the Washington Zoo."
Dale Russakoff, a Washington Post reporter who lives in Montclair, sent us a note a while ago, asking us to promote the book of WaPo colleague Marjorie Williams, who died Jan. 16, 2005. Williams' book, "The Woman at the Washington Zoo," is a posthumously published collection of her columns, essays and a short memoir of her battle with liver cancer. The diagnosis came when Williams' children were 5 and 8, and she was only expected to live three to four months. She wound up surviving three years.
For me, time is the only currency that truly counts any more. I have weathered days of wretchedness and pain without a whimper, only to come unglued when some little glitch suddenly turns up to meddle with the way I had planned to use some unit of time: that this half-hour, and the contents I had planned to pour into it, are now lost to me forever seems an insupportable unfairness. Because, of course, any old unit of time can suddenly morph into a bloated metaphor for the rest of your time on earth, for how little you may have and how little you may control it.
Here's a lovely review from the New York Times. We picked up our copy other day, took it home, brought it straight to bed and read for hours. Watchung Booksellers has plenty in stock.
Transit workers have been called back to work and subways and buses should be running by the morning rush tomorrow.
Bloomberg live press conference going on now (3:39 pm).
Tonight's the night for last-minute holiday festivities, before everyone goes off to snuggle with their own families. Your choice:
Montclair-based American Tank Service, which was removing an underground oil tank in Bergenfield last week when a gas line was pinched, causing a gas explosion that killed three, has been named in a lawsuit by a survivor. The AP reports:
Kathleen Moat, 39, claims workers from American Tank Service of Montclair were negligent when they dug on Dec. 13 to remove an underground oil tank outside the complex. She also is suing a natural gas company, claiming workers from Public Service Electric & Gas Co. didn't properly mark areas where pipelines were buried.
Scot Surbeck shoots a picture of 444 Park Street in Montclair, where two-alarm fire gutted a third floor yesterday afternoon. A fireman was injured fighting the afternoon blaze.
Lots of buzz this morning that, despite yesterday's posturing, the two sides in NYC's transit strike are talking and possibly close to an agreement. There's even a news blackout at the hotel where negotiations are taking place -- a sign, some say, that an announcement is imminent. While Toussant is expected in court by 11 to face possible jail time, word is that Bloomberg doesn't want to see the union head become a martyr. The Barista agrees. Jailing Toussant prolongs the strike, rather than ending it.
Meanwhile, many Masters and Mistresses of the Universe plan to start their holiday tomorrow and take next week off. What about you? Planning to leave the subways, buses and class wars behind?
These are really the ones that Codey picked, and that we have to choose from, before Jan. 1.
What's on your mind?
Like Montclair, Bloomfield usually puts bags over its parking meters to encourage seasonal shoppers. But not this year. That was the buzz in Budget Print on Broad Street today, where this picture was taken, and yes that's a ticket on somebody's windshield.
While Tom Cruise missed out on a Golden Globe nod, Glen Ridge High's most notorious thespian does get recognized for his year long performance away from the Big Screen by making the list of the "Ten Most Pathetic Media Meltdowns in 2005".
Advertising Age's Media Guy, Simon Dumenco, gives Tommy Boy the gong in the mag's December 19 online edition.
Tom Cruise’s toothy tantrum on Oprah was an instant classic that joined Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction†on the shortlist of All-time Greatest Moments in American Television Infamy. But don’t forget that Tom’s attempt at bludgeoning us into buying his true l-u-v for Katie Holmes was almost topped by his own Scientology-fueled "Today" show outburst, in which he took on psychiatry, pharmacology, Brooke Shields and interviewer Matt Lauer. (“No, you see, here’s the problem: You don’t know the history of psychiatry,†he told Lauer. “I do.â€) Unfortunately for Cruise, just about everyone concluded that his talk-show freak-outs were fatal PR malfunctions.
Any suggestions as to to else who might make the list for PR blunders in Baristaville?
Meet Marianne Murdock, a former barista, who reached out to tell us about her new song, "Barista."
i serve coffee, happens every time, some caffein-depleted repeater/causin' trouble in the line, you wanna double cup, room at the top,/you want a pump of the syrup that you know i haven't got.../i'm a barista by trade, i'm your coffee slave, you order up your drink/and i make sure it gets made, barista by trade, i'm your coffee slave,/it's up to me to get you through the rest of your day
You can listen to a preview of the song on her site and buy for it for $5. It's a lot for one sonng, we know, but maybe if enough of you buy it, we can to convince her to be our poster girl, and sit on our masthead.
In our mailbox, word from the owners of Epernay that the bistro is officially off the market and back to business as usual, and that they'd love to see us all, even the naysayers...
We are off the market after several offers.
We invite all our regulars, our new guests and our dissatified people of the past to come and enjoy a spectacular menu. The food is better than ever and we would like to meet more of you!
Mark and Courtnay
Last time we had heard any buzz about a potential sale was on egullet back in September 23, when the owners left this message on egullet...
E-mails, spreadsheets and Word documents don't need to take the bus or subway to move around, and some canny tech firms are pointing that out this week to New Yorkers, Monsters and Critics reports.
Laplink Software is offering a free two-week trial of Laplink Everywhere, which allows commuters to sit in front of their home computers and see exactly what they would see at work.
Want some other choices? Look who's bought sponsored links from Google for the search term "transit strike."
In yesterday's open thread, Daniella asked:
Did anyone else spend two hours in traffic on 280 W last night? It took me two hours to get to West Orange from NEWARK. I think it's all because of the transit strike.
What do ya'll think?
Posted by: daniella | Dec 21, 2005 7:06:05 AM
It's Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, with the sun setting at 4:32 pm. The good news, of course, is that tomorrow, the days start getting longer. However, for at least a month, that seems theoretical.
Hamilton Road in Glen Ridge is celebrating by setting out luminaria this evening. Any Solstice traditions on your block?
Tookie's funeral is underway now in Los Angeles, and should be viewable here later. Talk about the executed Crips founder, New York's transit strike, what you want Santa to bring you, or anything else that strikes your fancy.
With four people necessary to drive through the Lincoln or Holland tunnels at rush hour during the strike, strangers are coming together to carpool. We saw this ad on Craigslist, seeking one rider at 9 am tomorrow. Need that ride? Or do you have a car and need riders? Post it here.
Saw Bobbi Brown at a very fancy Christmas do on Lloyd Road Saturday night. She was the only woman there wearing jeans, and she looked fabulous.
Auteurs wanted. Over in Dubai, meanwhile, Montclair's own JMo has been taking in the Dubai Film Festival.
Signs of the Times?
Following last week’s Bong Sign Alert, a Baristanet Investigation© has revealed nine school crossing signs have been modified by a citizen sign decorator, whose humor appears to have gone haywire. Circling the outer perimeter of Edgemont School, the street artist is exhibiting on Valley Road, North Mountain and Berkeley Place. The six bong carrying kids are joined by one wielding a scary knife and another striking a grim reaper pose, complete with a scarier sickle. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a conical birthday hatted kid carrying a cake alit with candles! -- Or is it a bomb? Tres weird if you ask us and way too much to explain to the kids. Has this stuff shown up around any other schools?
The heat goes off in Bloomfield schools at 2 pm, the Star Ledger reports.
The Bloomfield Board of Education, as part of a package of conservation measures, voted this fall to reduce the heat in its buildings at 2 p.m., saying the buildings would stay warm for at least a couple of hours more. The latest that schools get out is 3:30 p.m.
After the evening parent conferences in November, the rule was amended to no longer apply to schools when they have night events. Board president Edmund Zilinski said one elementary school also reported a couple of cold classrooms in the afternoons, and heaters have since been furnished.
The Barista goes out to Bay Street Station and Glen Ridge Station to record commuters' comments about the strike.
We actually met one lady from Brooklyn, who stayed with a friend in Montclair overnight because of the threat of the transit strike, because she decided it would be easier to get to Manhattan from the suburbs than from Brooklyn. She plans to sleep out here until the strike is over. Who'd have thunk it?
For the first time in 25 years, the transit system of New York City goes on strike. Tne announcement came at 3 am. More here.
NJ Transit will cross-honor all passes and tickets to help with the strike. Expect heavier pedestrian traffic around Penn Station. More from NJ Transit here.
More commuting tips, including a suggestion to use the Park-n-Ride at Montclair State University, here.
The Barista Radio Network goes live tonight ahead of a potential transit strike, which will snarl traffic, shorten tempers, make people late for meetings -- and all that kind of nasty stuff.
Since we write Baristanet in our pajamas, our major transit strike preparation is signing up for audioblog.com, which will allow us to call in our stories from the actual outside world tomorrow, should an actual transit strike occur. How are you getting ready? Leave ride offers and transit tips below.
Mark your calendar. There's a holiday bash in Montclair and you're all invited:
Thursday, December 29th, from 4-7pm, Whole Foods is having a “Holiday Cocktail Party,†with passed hors d’oeuvres from each department and hopefully wine and champagne [if they can swing a temporarily liquor license]. Nosh on smoked salmon pinwheels, sliced beef on crostini, chicken skewers, cranberries in brandy sauce, assorted cheeses and olives, and for dessert, coffee, assorted chocolates, peppermint crunch brownies, and much more. Musicans from Montclair State will provide some mood music.
If you're on the fence about having your own shindig, go here or here for inspiration. Speaking of liquor license issues, Cuban Pete's has had some trouble in that department. Tipsters tell us sangria was poured out on the street because the restaurant was not in compliance with the always-confusing Jersey wine license requirements. One thing we've learned: the NJ wine license allows restaurants to sell only bottles. The sale of wine by the glass is not permitted. Unless Cuban Pete's is planning to sell the bottle and magically make the sangria tableside, we're not sure how this will work. Besides the booze trouble, chef Carl Ruiz up and moved on to Manhattan. Stay tuned.
Thread away...
It sounds like a happy ending for the Brokeback Mountain movie: Two former cowboys get together and open an antiques store in Montclair called Dusty's & Rusty's Antiques. Alright, I can dream, but the store (actually a pair of side-by-side storefronts) is for real and it's in downtown Montclair, just steps away from the Clairidge movie theater. The fictional names are the creation of owner (and Baristanet writer) Irene Ackerman. Check out the two storefronts to find scores of unique antique art, architectural elements, furniture, lighting, vintage jewelry, toys, advertising memorabilia, even the kitchen sink (no joke, she's got one for sale). One-stop shopping for anyone who loves great old things, as well as the odd, witty and whimsical. Oddities include a 1930's "fight bell" from Madison Square Garden (yes, it's deafening), and an $85,000 bronze horse (ouch!). Baristanet gift pick: these bold bronze initials salvaged from Meyer's Department Store in Paterson ($45 a piece).
480 & 482 Bloomfield Avenue; (enter on Bloomfield, or via the lobby across from the Clairidge Movie Theater) 917-776-7202.
MyManMisterC (a.k.a Matthew Caruso)and his bride-to-be Emily on Millionaire. Well, she was on today and just walked with $16,000. Congratulations!!!
Meanwhile, she called Caruso as a phone-a-friend, and he answered this question correctly. Do you know the answer?
Could two hot cowboys, hot for each other, be the breakthrough film that could change everything? The Clairidge is betting on Brokeback Mountain, with showings almost hourly. Here's what early viewers are saying, from NorthJersey.com:
I was kind of curious about how they deal with the subject of ... cowboys," said John Klemek with a grin.
Klemek, waiting on line Friday with his girlfriend, Denise Agnello, at Montclair's Clairidge Cinema 6 was, of course, half right.
They're gay cowboys - which is why the film, opening this weekend in two New Jersey theaters, has created a huge buzz, the beginnings of a backlash, talk of Oscars for Heath Ledger (in particular) and Jake Gyllenhaal, and a ready supply of jokes for David Letterman ("Top Ten Signs You're a Gay Cowboy").
Whether the movie truly breaks ground will depend on its effect on two very different audiences.
President Bush follows up his address last night with a press conference now.
A new baby restaurant is born every minute in Baristaville, or so it seems.
To taste this newbie, go to Food.
Springsteen fans may get to show their love in a Boss ride. From Newsday:
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, is driving a proposal introduced Thursday to create specialty "Born to Run" license tags for Garden State drivers. Proceeds from sale of the plates would go to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, a Springsteen-supported charity.
To become law, the bill must be approved by both houses of the Legislature by Jan. 9, the last day of the current session, then signed by the governor. The tags would cost $50, plus a $10 annual contribution.
A resolution honoring The Boss on the 30th anniversary of his classic "Born to Run" album was approved in a voice vote Thursday by the state Senate. Senators heard a recording of Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" before casting their votes.
A similar resolution failed last month in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, a snub attributed to Springsteen's vocal campaigning on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry a year earlier.
We're hoping the site is back to normal for everyone, with normal being a relative term. Check in and chat here.
First reported in the Montclair Times, then picked up today by the Star Ledger, news that Montclair is just not going to take it any more. Residents and businesses with alarms that go off willy nilly will eventually have to pay for their tempermental security system's inadequacies. The first false alarm will be "on the house"...
Back in Montclair, the price structure is similar, with the first false alarm -- whether it's burglar or fire -- being "complimentary," as Police Chief David Sabagh calls it. Beyond that, Sabagh said, the police are proposing a new sliding scale of fees, with the second false call costing $50, the third, $100, and four or more, $200 a pop.
That could ring up a lot of cash, particularly if applied to a public entity characterized as the town's biggest offender: Montclair High School.
Deputy Police Chief Perry Mayers tallied 95 false calls -- all burglar alarms -- this year at the home of the Mounties, something that could conceivably result in $18,550 in fines.
Wouldn't it be nice if homeowners could then fine the companies who install alarms that are way too sensitive to begin with? Or you can do what a friend does -- place alarm signs/sticker along the perimeter of your home and forgo the actual alarm system altogether.
Hoboken's getting a new hotel, a posh "W" no less. From the New York Times:
With 225 first-class rooms, 40 elegant hotel residences and a signature array of amenities, the W Hoboken is expected to zoom to the four-star status now enjoyed by only one other hotel in New Jersey, the Short Hills Hilton - and add new credibility to Hoboken's claim to cutting-edge cachet.
It all begs the question -- will Montclair ever get its "hotel?" We'd be happy with an X, Y or Z.
Yogi doesn't hibernate in winter. In fact, the cold weather is the the best time to see him at his museum in Little Falls. Newsday catches up with Montclair's famous:
How often do you work at the museum?
I come here just about every day. It passes the time in the winter. If the weather were good, I'd be playing golf.
What's your handicap?
A lot.
Berra's been watching movies as part of his YES Network show "Yogi And A Movie." What's your favorite baseball flick of all time?
It's that weekend, the weekend that weight watchers dread more than any other, the weekend that hosts around Baristaville lay on the calories, the eggnog and the yule logs. Well, in case you're not up to all the holiday cheer, you might want to try out this ultra-cool Holiday Party Excuse Generator. (Nod to Ian for sending it our way.)
We tried it out and generated this excuse.
Who cares about that? Let's deal with important issues;
What happened to b-net today? Every time I looked, until now, it had gone back to 12/11. Was the server hacked or something? Did it fall into a time warp?
Posted by: crank | Dec 16, 2005 9:05:13 PM
We were cranky too today, crank.
Like everyone else, the Barista woke up this morning, turned on her computer, saw that time had rolled back to Dec. 11, and wondered what the heck was going on. We refreshed the page over and over, but no luck.
Our puzzlement was solved when we looked at our e-mail. Another TypePad blogger we knew tipped us off that the whole TypePad system was down, and that there was no way to log onto the system or change the display of our page. This problem effected tens of thousands of TypePad users, not just us. Read more about it here.
About 7:30 pm tonight, we tried logging onto TypePad and discovered service was back up, but it took us four more hours to work out a number of kinks in order to restore the page.
It couldn't have been lousier timing for us. Not only had we just sent out our digital Christmas card, but we were mentioned today both in the Wall Street Journal (reprinted here) and on the Brian Lehrer show, which should have generated some nice traffic to our site.
And we missed this big local story about flooding in upper Montclair.
The heartening thing about the day was the number of readers who e-mailed or phoned to ask what was wrong. Thanks. And sorry.
The problem with shopping for gifts at Semplice (Sem-plee-chay): We get distracted and want to shop only for ourselves. At every turn, father/daughter owners Jim and Kelly Del Rosso stock beautiful items we covet, but they also make it simple (semplice) to find stylish gifts for every occasion.
* There's CHOCOLATE, almost too pretty to eat. Amazing hand packed (in the store) novelty fine balls of chocolate mint, creamy peppermint, gilded dark chocolate almonds, or Kelly’s fave, mini white chocolate peppermint twist balls. Festively wrapped in bags, yule logs, or the Eiffel Tower box (left). A Baristaville bargain, starting at just $6.
* Looking for a little something both sexy and sake? No liquor license required for this new perfume and bath oil from Soho boutique, Fresh. Dubbed Memoirs of a Geisha, it's made with real sake and just might make all your Geisha fantasies come true. See the movie, read the book, then have the BATH! Geisha Gift set includes bath oil, eau de parfum, and, of course, a face mask for $46. Items also sold separately.
Still too early to know whether there'll be mass transit in New York City tomorrow, but some of our readers are already making contingency plans. That's because you'll need four people to drive through the Lincoln or Holland tunnels between 5 and 11 am. Reader Harris Teran, who lugs heavy equipment around, has to drive in, so he's looking for carpool partners. Let's see if Citizen Journalism can help. Leave your info and suggestions below.
More info on the (possible) strike and how it will effect tomorrow's commute here and here. Come to think of it, sounds like the perfect day for telecommuting.
Meanwhile, speaking of getting around, the National Weather Service warns of hazardous driving conditions until midnight, especially icy roads, as light snow changes to rain.
And speaking of the War on Christmas, how about all those pinko Winter Stolstice celebrations cropping up all around town? (Just kidding, we love Solstice, if only because when it's over, the days start to get longer.)
Tonight (Thursday) at 7, there's going to be a moon-watch and solstice event at Essex County Environmental Center, 621-B Eagle Rock Avenue. The Bee's Knees Cafe in Montclair is having a family arts solstice celebration and will be making sun masks on Saturday Dec. 17 from 1 to 4 (free but reservation required 973.744.1190), and the Glen Ridge Association for Cultural Education will celebrate solstice at the Glen Ridge train station on Sunday Dec. 18 from 4 to 6 pm.
And don't forget to check out this non-sectarian holiday fun fest over in Maplewood!
Many people in Baristaville, and particularly 1995 graduates of Glen Ridge Ridge High School, were saddened to hear about the untimely death last month of Dara Alison Caggiano of Montclair. Caggiano, 28, died of a complication from severe asthma. Last night, the Adam Niewood Trio played in his former classmate's memory at Trumpets, raising money for asthma research, PAWS Animal Shelter and St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
Click on the banner on the top of our page to see our Christmas card and enter our Festivus Challenge. All you have to do is name the six ghosts of Baristaville Past, pictured on the ornaments and send them to our contest e-mail with your real name.
And here's a list of the gifts in case the flash went by to fast for you:
No cheating and posting answers in comments! You have until next Thursday at 5 pm, then we draw for winners. And have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa whatever.
Not all holiday gifts have to come from regular stores. Here are a few that don't:
Three things we learned on Tuesday night when we attended a home safety lecture by the Glen Ridge Police Department:
1. Fear, even more than politics and weather, is local. Despite the unexplained murder of a 58-year-old woman the week before, the meeting was sparsely attended, and almost everyone lived within a block or two of the murder scene.
2. You should always charge your cellphone in the bedroom at night. That way, you have a phone at hand if there's an intruder and your land line is cut.
3. There's a book called "Murder on Astor Place" -- "A Gaslight Mystery" no less -- and an 11-year-old on Astor Place was halfway through it when the murder happened. It's a historical thriller that takes place in New York, but it's still spooking us out.
If you're interested in safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians, Bike Montclair urges you to come out next Tuesday night to Montclair's town council meeting, where they'll be asking for more bike racks, improvements to dangerous intersections in town and other bike-friendly infrastructure changes.
They've also released a map with the best and worse places to bike around Montclair. Streets in red and intersections in yellow are the most dangerous. (Click on map to see it full-size.)
Full text of Bike Montclair's letter to the public is below.
Organizers of a Jan. 7 silent auction to raise money to fight breast cancer are looking for more artwork. If you're an artist or collector with a donation, contact Susan Kaufman. The event will be at the Nandi School of Art, 179 Glenridge Ave., Montclair.
Last week, a 58-year-old woman is found murdered in Glen Ridge. This week, as reported in today's Star Ledger, a 58-year-old woman, dead since the summer, is found by a meter reader in her Bloomfield basement dining room.
The gruesome find was made Monday afternoon when a Public Service Electric & Gas worker arrived at a single-family house the siblings shared on Smith Street, Bloomfield police Capt. Michael Behre said.
The woman, who police estimated had been dead since June or July, was identified as Diana Drylock, 58, according to Charlotte Smith, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.
Foul play is apparently not suspected.
Make like Tiny Tim and do some good this holiday season:
* The Human Needs Pantry: Besides food collections, they've now expanded to include gently used clothing. Bring donations of winter jackets and coats, especially for kids, to 9 Label Street, on Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings. 973-746-4669. Montclair Art Museum is also a colelction site for new or gently used coats to support Jersey Cares.
* Toni's Kitchen, which operates independently but is housed in St. Luke's Church, needs contributions, both of food and money.
* Purchase greeting cards that go a long way from the Montclair-based Kids Helping Kids. On sale at Watchung Booksellers, Learning Express and Testa Opticians.
* Got toys? Drop 'em off and spread some cheer at either Starbucks or St. Ives Salon; both businesses are among the many area locations collecting new, unwrapped toys to make a child's holiday brighter. The Roseanne Cash concert this Friday night at Outpost in the Burbs is also a Toys For Tots event. Bring an unwrapped new toy.
Add other ways to do good here, in comments.
The Star Ledger's Phil Read picks up the Porno Hate Train story in today's paper.
Rapper Ice Cube is known for profanity-laced lyrics. But when a hip-hop group called Porno Hate Train -- comprising students from affluent Glen Ridge High -- did the same, heads turned.
The Ridger hip-hop group's CD, said to contain sexually explicit obscenities about classmates and name names, was being hawked at the school.
Read reports that school officials won't comment on what disciplinary action -- if any -- has been taken, but we've heard from unofficial sources that the rappers are receiving no school punishment and that a school official met with all the students mentioned by name in the "Hate Train" song and told them it was up to their families to bring lawsuits if they wanted.
We have also heard from several sources inside the schools that Baristanet has been banned from Glen Ridge school computers. Before the Porno Hate Train story broke, it was available.
The sharp-eyed Anne-Marie Nolan passed this sign a few weeks ago and thought that somebody had drawn a liquor bottle on it. Actually it's a bong. (Not that we know what that is.) The sign is on North Mountain Ave., right behind Edgemont School in Montclair.
Word from Broad Street in Bloomfield of a strange attempted robbery at the American Savings Bank last night.
According to sources, a man went up to a drive-through teller window, said he had a bomb and threatened to blow up the bank if he wasn't given money. Although the bank teller handed over $3,000, police were alerted, and were able to follow the suspect home, make an arrest and recover the money within minutes.
Tiny dogs are all the rage, but even if you can't get your little girl the real thing, (or prefer a pooch that doesn't eat or poop) these fashion purses/furry friends are a fun alternative that lets little can gamely dress up doggies --chihuahua, terrier, or beagle in glam get-ups -- without fear of repercussions. $11.99 each (shots included); doggy togs, $5.99; Learning Express.
For future Rachel Raes, Emerils, Jamie Olivers, gift a Sassafras Cooking kit, portable, preparable treats including Pizza, Fairy Princess Magic Cookies, Chocolate Moose Mousse, Oh Fudge!, Wizard Magic Cookies and Holiday Cookies. Kid friendly instructions and (most)ingredients: $14.99 per kit. The power to impress your parents: priceless! Also at Learning Express.
From Hampton Roads, Va.
Yogi Berra, the great philosopher of sport and life, must have had the Hampton High School football team in mind when he said, "This is like déjà vu all over again."
So, as of yesterday, Montclair's supposed to be all meter-friendly for the holidays, and most of the meters around town are sporting those little plastic "you don't have to pay" baggies. But not the ones in the Fullerton deck.
Given that the Crescent Deck's been free since it opened, but the meter maids were out giving tickets at expired meters around town the last two weeks, should we assume a) that someone just forgot to cover the Fullerton deck meters or b) we still have to pay there?
It's 52.1 miles between the Indian Point nuclear power plant and Montclair, but there's a movement afoot to get Montclair to fight the plant's recertification next year. Adrianne Shtop will address the Montclair Environmental Commission tomorrow night (Wed. Dec. 14) at 7:30 pm in the Montclair Municipal Building's third-floor conference room.
Chief among Montclairians who want to close Indian Point is local environmentalist and winter gardener Pat Kenschaft, who sent this message to the Montclair Watercooler and (surprise, surprise)had it rejected.
Mike M. from Montclair reports that his house on Essex St. in Montclair was burglarized yesterday and warns his neighbors.
Left my Essex Ave. home in Montclair, near Watchung School, at about 11:00 am Monday (12 Dec) morning. Returned about 4:30 pm to find window leading from porch to entry hall thoroughly broken. Burglars appear to have been through several rooms on three floors of the house. But nothing trashed. Items known to be missing: digital camera, notebook computer, gold necklace, a few other jewelry items. Many things not taken, most notably other jewelry.
So be informed and beware, especially my neighbors on Essex Ave. around Garden and Frederick streets.
Glen Ridge Police Chief John Magnier is calling last week's murder of 58-year-old Joan Galligan "an isolated case," and continues to reassure the public, the Star Ledger reports today.
"With the information that we've gathered up to this point," he said, "there's nothing that would lead us to believe that there is any jeopardy to the general public."
But in the absence of any real information -- or any suggested motive in the killing of a well-liked grandmother and law office manager -- the imagination works overtime. How about this theory, which we've heard at least three times? A once-a-decade serial killer who targets women in their late 50's. As everyone knows, the Galligan case was almost exactly ten years after Glen Ridge's last murder, of 58-year-old Ethyl Durea, out walking her dog, about a block away from the current killing. But on NJ.com's Glen Ridge forum, a poster remembers yet another incident from about 20 years ago.
Acting Gov. Richard Codey is making good use of his last days in office, including possibly setting himself up for, at the very least, a walk-on roll in The Sopranos. From the Daily Record:
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey picked "The Sopranos" creator David Chase to receive the first-ever Governor's Award for Filmmaking. Codey presented the award to Chase during a reception Friday night for 150 guests at Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion.
"David's creative writing and rich character illustration have produced a show unlike anything else on television," Codey said. "It is an honor to present this award to a New Jersey native who never forgot his roots."
Born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Chase was raised in New Jersey, the only child in an Italian-American family. As a boy, he lived in Boonton, Clifton and Caldwell, and grew up watching gangster movies and inventing stories.
Kudos to Chase. Meanwhile, if you could cast Cody in a guest role, what character would he play?
Ah, those holiday traditions. This is one I experience every year...
A vacant lot between New and Mission Streets in Montclair may not be vacant for much longer. Residents in the area -- far from thrilled. From the Montclair Times:
On Thursday evening, more than 100 residents filled a second-floor conference room for a public input session centered on redevelopment plans for the area around New and Mission streets. “We are not proposing the taking of any residential properties in this plan,†said David Aimen from The Louis Berger Group, not for the last time in the evening.
One of the main objections was the density of the proposed development plans which would include a four-story building with apartments and retail space, plus 10 townhouses with on-site parking.
“It’s going to completely change what initially attracted us to Montclair,†said Kellie Wilson, who attended the meeting with her young children. “Now we are going to have a community full of traffic and people.â€
Some cast the development in a more positive light:
“Think in terms of your values,†said 4th Ward Councilwoman Sandra Lang, whose constituency envelops the streets in question. “As I understand it, people are already getting offers on their homes. If you do own property on New or Mission [streets], you might be sitting on something very valuable.â€
If Lang's intelligence is true, perhaps someone could tell the folks selling this property, located at 59 New Street. On the market for 121 days, it recently reduced its price to $299,900 from $319,999.
Is soft serve slipping away?
From the Star Ledger , it's not exactly the kind of mail you want to open over coffee in your kitchen, but folks in Livingston were receiving letters like this one:
We have never met someone who is ugly as you who actually thinks they are pretty," the letter said. "Your poor husband ... it is open knowledge that he is cheating on you."
Another letter said, "Your kids are out of control -- put a leash on those brats. Your wife is so dumb, maybe the dumbest person in Livingston ... and don't forget about that (expletive) ugly looking daughter of yours -- what happened to her -- did she get smashed in the face with a rock."
A third letter taunted, "Who do you think kept your son off the baseball all-star team -- YOURS TRULY."
The exact number of letters may never be known because not every recipient complained to police. But the raunchy assault transformed this well-to-do Essex County suburb into a hotbed of suspicion as people cast wary eyes at each other in supermarkets and on soccer fields.
The poison missives weren't a childish prank. They were the work of Stephen Reiter, a well-regarded member of the community and a member of the Livingston zoning board. The punishment -- a maximum fine of $500 and $420 in court fees. Was it sufficient?
Derailed by a stomach ailment Friday night (caused by trying to make home-made seaweed salad), the Barista hung out on the sofa, drank tea, knitted and watched Glen Ridge homey Tom Cruise in "Vanilla Sky." Actually, we almost watched it two times, as it played back-to-back on Bravo, and we thought when it started the second time, he was just being brought back to life again.
Somehow, given the circumstances (seaweed poisoning), it was just right. On Saturday night, our tummy repaired, we made out it to the more rigorous "Syriana."
What did you see this weekend?
Yesterday, it was Richard Pryor and Senator Eugene McCarthy. Twenty-five years ago Thursday it was John Lennon.
Jersey blogger Ken Shane remembers all three of them here. The floor is open to other eulogizers.
In case you haven't heard, Research in Motion, the company that makes the BlackBerry, is in the middle of an ugly patent dispute that could, theoretically, shut down the mobile e-mail service. And then what would happen? How would the dealers deal? How would the big shots shoot? How would Baristanet get late-breaking tips on NJ Transit train delays?
Well, the Barista herself is not a big enough shot to have a BlackBerry but we know Baristaville is full of addicts users. Which led us to wonder, what other dependencies might we find among our readers?
The other bear is Jam. And the two big fellas are the stars of the Black Bear Exhibit and the babies of none other than Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo (or as we like to call him "Joey D.) who has gotten behind the Turtle Back Zoo in a big way. Except it's hard to get that word out without a hook. So they came up with one...
The Excecutive was on hand recently to congratulate the 5-year-old Rachel Eelman of North Haledon for being the 200,000th visitor to Essex's Turtle Back Zoo in 2005.
Says Joe: "Welcoming our 200,000th visitor is an important milestone in Turtle Back Zoo's history. It is gratifying, especially after all the work we did," he added. "Congratulations to 5-year-old Rachel Eelman and her family. I am proud that Turtle Back Zoo is one of her favorite places to visit and I hope being our 200,000 th visitor is a lasting memory for her and her family," the Executive said.
Note to Rachel: If Joey's gonna send your name to every media outlet in town, you must ask for something free, like a lifetime pass to the zoo, or at the very least a bearskin rug (faux, of course). The moral of the story -- the zoo looks great; go check it out.
Haven't been keeping up with football. Otherwise, I would have known that Michael Strahan wasn't the only Montclair guy in the NFL. From the New York Times, talk of the potential of David Tyree, who happens to be an MHS graduate...
Tyree lives in West Orange, within walking distance of Montclair, and makes the trip to his alma mater for practices and games. He was the guest speaker at the football team's banquet Tuesday.
"Every practice was like a war for him," Ed Lebida, Tyree's high school football coach, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "Occasionally I'll ask him to do some technique work with my kids. That's if he's dressed for it."
Sounds like a nice guy. How do you like his prospects? Who do you like for tomorrow? And what about it taking 15 minutes to get to Giants Stadium from Montclair. That seems long (hasn't anyone else made it to Manhattan in 18 flat...)
Amanti Vino, Church Street's new wine boutique, is bringing out the big guns. Besides outstanding wines (like the Domaine Roger Perrin 2003 Chateauneuf Du Pape at $33.95), now there's Montclair's largest wine glass (and unlike the $300 colander you can drink out of it). Guaranteed to save you the trouble of getting a refill, it measures 22 inches tall, 7" diameter at the rim; the hand blown Ravenscroft Polish crystal is 100% lead free. Big enough for sharing with a crowd, think of all the washing it will cut down on. Any other ways can you think of using this? Yours for $125.
Meanwhile, if big isn't your thing, there's always an Amanti Vino gift certificate. Less heavy than lugging wines to friends and family and they get to select their favorite grape. For holiday parties, ask about the great wines for $10-$15.
For more vino-themed gifts, check out the sporty insulated foam bottle carriers found at Magnolia's Wines & Spirits. The BYO bags are available in assorted colors and different sizes: single bottle, $14.95; double size, $16.50 or a six-bottle carrier, for $19.99. With a comfortable hand grip, the carriers prevent breakage while keeping wine perfectly chilled.
What do you want Santa to bring you? What have you bought and wrapped already? And of course, anything else you want to talk about now...
Montclair High’s School of Visual and Performing Arts (SVPA), who brought you Ragtime and Les Miserables, has a new show. "Showcase 2006! Comedy (the musical)" has two remaining performances: tonight, 8 pm, and tomorrow, 3 pm. Little Theater at Montclair High School Annex, 141 Park St. Tickets, $10, available at the door.
Grisly details regarding the murder of Joan Galligan in Glen Ridge only leave more questions. From the New York Times:
A woman found dead this week at her Glen Ridge, N.J., home with a bag over her face died from a blow to the head and suffocation, an investigator said yesterday.
The investigator, who did not have authorization to speak publicly about the case and thus did not want to be named, said that the police were still trying to determine the exact time of death, and whether the woman, Joan E. Galligan, 58, was hit first and then suffocated, or vice versa.
Alan Cullinan, Ms. Galligan's brother and a former New York City police officer, said he did not think robbery was the motive for the killing. "You don't put a bag over someone's head if you're going to rob the house," he said. "It's either a crime of passion or it was an intentional murder."
The police have not said what they think the motive might have been.
If you're ready to get out today after the big snow, they're celebrating the holidays over at Watchung Plaza. From 10 am to 4 pm, businesses in the Plaza are giving a little something extra to shoppers in the way of gifts with purchases, freebies, refreshments and other goodies. If you missed him last weekend, Santa will be out and about, too.
Some locals and Barista pals with video gigs: Glen Ridger Julia Roberts, of Unpregnancy, on "Real Life with Mary Amaroso" on CN-8 tonight (Friday) at 6pm and Sunday at 7pm. Soprano Sue has some camera time in City Confidential, on A&E tomorrow (Saturday) 8 pm. And Montclair resident and MSNBC producer/cameraman Steve McCarthy v-blogs his scary recent Middle East adventure here.
The Glen Ridge Police Department will hold a seminar on crime prevention Tuesday night (Dec. 13) at 7 pm in the Glen Ridge Congregational Church, 187 Ridgewood Avenue.
GOT SLED? Once the morning cartoon shows are over, you've got to do something with the youngins. If you don't have the equipment for downhill action, you might want to pay a visit to American Royal Hardware, Watchung Plaza, arguably the most friendly store in town, which has the season’s hottest selection of slippery sleds (with hand grips). Choose from the Paricon, Snow Twist Blowup, Snow Tracker, Z Twister, and more – guaranteed to send your whole family barreling down the hill with big smiles. From $7.99. (Cue comments about how we used to slide down the hill on corrugated boxes).
Continue reading "A Present You Might Have to Give Away Early" »
Gill out.
It's done. The insider club known as the New Jersey Democratic Party Governor-elect Jon Corzine has picked Robert Menendez to take Corzine's Senate seat. The official announcement will be today at 2 pm at Liberty State Park.
And for a while there, it looked like state senator Nia Gill of Montclair was *this* close.
The New York Times has more details on the bizarre murder of Glen Ridge resident Joan E. Galligan, 58, who was discovered Wednesday after not showing up to work.
Galligan had moved to Glen Ridge five years ago to be closer to her grandchildren.
"The only word I can think of is bizarre," Ms. Cicala [the victim's daughter] said.
"We never had a problem in New York City our whole lives, and we come to New Jersey and this is what happens," she added.
Neighbors said that Ms. Galligan was a pleasant woman, generous with safety and travel tips, and meticulous about maintaining her home, a recently remodeled tan house with a Christmas wreath on the front door, where she had even been seen vacuuming the driveway, one neighbor, Shalini Mohan, said.
Meanwhile, as others have noted, the murder comes almost exactly 10 years, and just a few houses away, from the shooting murder of 59-year-old Glen Ridge resident Ethel Duryea in 1995. That was the last homicide in Glen Ridge.
Funeral arrangements for Galligan, including a Mass on Monday, are listed here.
All the Baristaville schools are closed today. We're going back to bed. While we're sleeping, here's where you can talk about the lack of toughness of kids and school districts these days/how you walked 10 miles to school uphill (both ways)/the best recipe for hot cocoa/where you buy your kids' boots/spinouts you've seen/etc. UPDATE: Glen Ridge Library closed too.
Photo courtesy Jessica Sporn.
Baristanet's business manager Laura Eveleth predicts school closing tomorrow -- and she's apparently right 99 percent of the time. Well, we'll see. Tomorrow morning, let us know if you've heard about a snow delay or cancellation by posting it here. If nothing's up, check out our handy links to the school websites for Montclair, Bloomfield and Glen Ridge.
(Those who haven't finished their homework or just want to spend the day in bed with a good book, the secret to causing snow days, as everyone knows, is wearing your pajamas inside out and backwards.)
Chasing the elusive perfect frosty mug? Montclair's Eric Levin does the work for you, in an article all about the state's best brewpubs in NJ Monthly. Locally, our own Egan & Sons gets a nod. Levin writes:
Egan’s looks like an old Dublin pub, perhaps because Chris Egan and his family own three pubs in Dublin. The 55-foot oak bar and its accompanying woodwork were made in Dublin about 150 years ago, interestingly of timber imported from Oregon. Huge copper lanterns overhang the bar, and the high-ceilinged dining room is lined in gorgeous old paneling from the dormitory of an Irish seminary.
The food too, by Chef François Chaterlan, is modern but informed by tradition—good bangers-and-mash, fish-and-chips, and mussels steamed in ale. The desserts are by noted Montclair baker Linda Ippolito. If you think bread pudding is the anvil of sweets, her luscious chocolate brioche pudding will change your mind.
He ain't kidding about the brioche pudding. Definitely worth the calories.
Blogging that is. New York Times writer and Montclair resident David Carr has just launched his Oscar blog (yes, we're getting near red carpet season), the aptly named Carpetbagger. Expect juicy tidbits and intelligence to help you win that Oscar pool (although Carr disclaims connections to any actual wagering at the onset).
The Carpetbagger is a daily blog designed to run the length of the Oscar season. The gesture is one of a bulletin board about Oscar coverage and will not be in the handicapping business, in part because you would be well advised to listen closely to any of my predictions and then go the other way as fast as possible.
With posts entitled Sniffing The Hem of Celebrity and lively verbiage ("Nobody likes a tempest in a crackpot better than the Carpetbagger") we're bagged already.
Sometimes, holiday gifts hide out in unsuspecting places. Piazza Della Sole, Watchung Plaza's shoe boutique extraordinaire, actually offers a lot more than snazzy shoes and boots. 
The store is stocked with accessories galore, including gorgeous boucle, chenille, silk, cashmere and wool scarves, men's Italian leather accessories (passport covers, wallets, money clips, essentials travel bag) from Lodis (priced between $35-$75), sleek leather or toasty warm shearling gloves for women ($70-$95), and a handbag selection to rival any bag store. Judy Tylpados and Camille Kessler always leave out goodies to nibble on (allowing moms to actually try on shoes in peace). 
Check out the store to score some great gifts sure to make a big impression. And for one lucky reader, Piazza Della Sole wants to give you a pair of those leather or shearling gloves (your choice), just for answering these questions correctly:
How many pairs of shoes did officials find when a popular revolt forced Imelda Marcos and late dictator Ferdinand Marcos into exile in 1986?
When the shoes were found, what was Marcos' shoe size?
What style shoe can be found on a street in Montclair?
Talk about what you want. Or if you feel like listening...
You bought the "fair trade" gifts. Now go see the movie:
"Hot Coffee, Hot Topics: Fair Trade in Nicaragua"
Come enjoy hot coffee (and hot popcorn!) while watching two short documentaries about fair trade in Nicaragua. ‘Ants that Moved Mountains’ describes the incredible success story of the Nueva Vida (New Life) Women’s Sewing Cooperative. ‘Santiago’s Story’ is a rich, uplifting documentary about the dramatic changes Fair Trade has brought to the lives of a coffee farmer and his family. Fair Trade coffee from Nicaragua and clothing made by Nueva Vida will be on sale.
It's tonight at 8 pm, it's free and its at 40 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair. More info here.
The online blog buzz for days has been that Robert Menendez, and not Nia Gill, would be tapped to fill Jon Corzine's senate seat. We'll update when the announcement is official, but here's more fuel to support the announcement, from the Star Ledger:
Gov.-elect Jon Corzine will appoint Rep. Robert Menendez to fill his U.S. Senate seat for the next year, with an official announcement coming as early as today, multiple sources said yesterday.
The move would make Menendez the first minority to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.
Corzine's transition team, however, cautioned against party and congressional sources who, they said, don't speak for Corzine. "They are speculative," said Corzine spokeswoman Ivette Mendez.
Yesterday's shocking murder in Glen Ridge, the first in almost 10 years, makes it way to the Star Ledger:
Authorities found the unidentified victim at 17 Astor Place about 1:30 p.m. after police received a call, Police Chief John Magnier said. The chief declined to say who called and did not give details about the call.
Magnier said no suspects were in custody. He would not provide additional details, including how the victim was killed or a possible motive. He also declined to release the name of the victim. He did seek to allay fears in the neighborhood.
"We have no reason to believe any other resident should feel in danger based on our investigation to this point," Magnier added.
Phone directory and property records list the house in the name of Joan Ellen Galligan, 58. But authorities would not comment on that name.
"I'm very saddened," said Mayor Carl Bergmanson. "There's nothing you can say that adequately reflects how you feel."
He added, "It's an active investigation. They'll get to the bottom of what happened, hopefully, sooner rather than later."
The last murder in Glen Ridge, of resident Ethel Duryea, has not yet been solved.
The Glen Ridge Police Department is now calling the "suspicious death" on Astor Place a homicide, and says the victim is a town resident. A homicide investigation began at 1:36 pm today. No other details are available pending the investigation.
The Glen Ridge Police, along with members of the Essex County Prosecutors Office homicide squad, are investigating a suspicious death on Astor Place in Glen Ridge. Astor Place, a one-block street between Maolis and Adams Place, is temporarily closed.
Anybody who noticed any suspicious activity on Astor between 7 pm last night and 1 pm today is asked to call Det. Mark Dailey at the GRPD. 973.748.8400, ext 113.
The soapbox is now officially open.
Talk about reinventing yourself. Former Montclair TV and appliance repairman Anthony DeSomma has a new line of work: with his brother Ben, he now runs Double-Red Publishing, which sells books and magazines to help lottery players pick luckier numbers.
The story, in yesterday's Star-Ledger, is part of the newspaper's investigation of the New Jersey lottery, which discovered (hold your breath, you'd have never guessed) that lottery is primarily a diversion of the lower classes.
A Star-Ledger analysis of five years of lottery ticket sales and winnings found sales tend to be higher in lower-income neighborhoods than in more affluent areas. And the pattern is even stronger for certain lottery games -- lower- income ZIP codes buy far more Pick 3, Pick 4 and scratch-off tickets per capita than areas with higher-income households.
We'll see about that. Who scratches in Baristaville?
For the answer, go to Food.
Porno Hate Train, the Glen Ridge teenage hip-hop group, is under investigation by the Glen Ridge Police Department. In a short news release yesterday, GRPD said it is in "on-going consultation" with the Essex County Prosecutors Office and the state Attorney General about the group's CD.
The police said that the disc, which was being sold at Glen Ridge High School, was brought to their attention by school officials.
The CD features sexually-explicit obscenities about classmates (who are mentioned by first and last names) as well as such karma-challenged lyrics as this:
Hurricane Katrina really wasn’t that bad
No food and no water, too bad it killed your daughter
Hurricane Katrina thousands dead
Who the f--- cares?
We've also learned that one song on the CD, not available on the group's website, is entitled "GRPD" and contains threats to kill every member of the Glen Ridge Police Department.
At least not easily.
Starting today, Bloomfield Ave. will be closed at Verona Park due to road repairs. Officials say It might reopen by Friday night.
Does anybody know why the McDonald's on Broad Street in Bloomfield is closed at 7:30 pm on a Tuesday night? And doesn't answer their phone? The Bloomfield Police had no clue when we called ("Maybe Ronald is taking the night off") but our mind ran to more sinister possibilities.
UPDATE: We have the answer: their annual holiday party. Sheesh.
Of course, you can talk about whatever you want, but Kevin Lee Allen is looking for some suggestions for cool holiday lounge music. He likes his Christmas tunes smooth and sophisticated. He already has Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" and Dean Martin's "(Baby) It's Cold Outside." What else belongs on his turntable? Or yours, for that matter...
In the world of letters, there are certain distinctions. The New York Times Bestseller list, the National Book Awards, and Amazon's hourly rankings to name few. Add another: the Watchung Booksellers local bestseller list. Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket now top the list, if that tells you anything about local tastes (or who holds the purse-strings), but so are Jon Katz (#4), James Frey (#6) and J.R. Moehringer (#9).
Watchung Bookseller is also the venue for local scribes to read and sign for the masses, and tonight at 7 pm, local TV personality Steve Adubato will be flogging his new book, "Make the Connection: Improve Your Communication at Work and at Home." 54 Fairfield St. in Montclair. Other upcoming events here.
Kids love anything they can make, especially mud pies and cakes. Yet those tempting creations never tasted real good. Fortunately, you can give aspiring gardeners a gift that's both fun and finger lickin-good, from the Montclair Art Museum's gift shop: Wrapped up in a flower pot with shovel and a bright yellow pinwheel flower are the ingredients for the ultimate dirt pie. The no-bake treat contains a combination of chocolate pudding (mud), chocolate cookie crumbs (dirt), gummi worms, and other tastefully disgusting ingredients. Shovels up six to eight servings; $13.95. Don't forget your milk mustache and camera.
WCBS News 2 reports a series of manhole explosions and a downed electric wire just a few miles away from Baristaville in Newark, which brings us back to the good old days when stuff like that happened in Montclair. Alas. Where's Scot Surbeck when you need him? Seriously, though, we hope everyone's OK, and stay away from the area of Freeman and Raymond Blvd.
If you're a gal*, there's little more frustrating that calling your regular hair salon and finding that your usual stylist has moved on. And they won't say where or give you the number.
Chances are if that's happened to you and you've been going to St. Ive's in Upper Montclair, you'll find the magic scissors over in West Caldwell at Antonio Michael Salon, where eight former employees of St. Ives now style hair, polish nails, answer the phone or sweep the floor.
No big deal, says Jeff Rothbard, attorney for St. Ives. "This stuff goes on. This is an industry where people have a following," he said in a phone interview, when we called St. Ive's for comment. "My client's been in business for 22 years. Let's see where all these other Johnny-come-latelys are in 22 years."
Meanwhile, if you're looking for someone over at Pelardis Salon in Montclair, where a gum-spitting spat a few months back escalated to an assault charge against the owner, Afrodite Pelardis of Bloomfield [UPDATE: Assault charge was eventually dropped, a commenter reports], we hear that you might want to try Esthetica Salon.
On the other hand, gals, here's a perfect job for citizen journalism. If you have a stylist or colorist who's changed places, let your friends and neighbors know.
Fair warning, Montclair shoppers. This free parking in downtown Montclair you may have heard so much about? So far, it's only in the new Crescent deck.
Be warned that the meter maids are still out in force, and you've got to feed quarters into the meters until they're wearing their red hoods. Who's been snagged?
Here's a nifty way to let your neighbors know about snow delays or cancellations. If you get a call about a school closing, post it here. Meanwhile, if you don't hear anything, or there are no comments, check out our handy links to the school websites for Montclair, Bloomfield and Glen Ridge.
Paul Zalewski (Ravenwood Photo) snaps the holiday tree lighting in Glen Ridge.
Cross the threshold of Dem Two Hands in Montclair and you'll stumble on a treasure trove of gorgeous handcrafted jewelry, clothing and accessories - all with a generous dose of ethnic chic.
Rocking out takes on a new meaning if you select one of these stunning silk purses laden with chunks of real turquoise and coral, accented with shell and silver beads, all hand sewn by Tibetan refugees. Prices start at $79; for the gal who's really into accessorizing there's also that incredible hip hugging belt to match for $198. Want to leave hints for someone? The helpful sales staff has a gift "wish list" book for you to fill. They promise to show Santa when he makes the rounds.
Feel free to share something strange, like this...
Reviews, news, views: what's been happening updated now at Food.
Trick play over in Caldwell. The Star Ledger reports on the latest in tribal feuding taking place over the use of Native American symbols.
Six weeks after the school board drafted a compromise policy for the use of Native American chants and cheers at Caldwell High School sporting events, the football booster club held a pep rally with a woman in a headdress riding on horseback while speakers blared the Florida State University Seminoles theme song.
Not everyone was on board with the plan...
School Board President Mary Davidson was at the rally, which began with an indoor pasta dinner and recognized senior football players and cheerleaders. She said no one expected the ending that occurred on the football field.
"It was a complete shock," she said. "The board of education and administration (are) very upset and disappointed in the actions of the people who put this together."
An "indoor pasta dinner". What, no maize?
New Jersey's nightmare nurse Charles Cullen, will plead guilty today to attempting to murder a patient at Somerset Medical Center. From the Star Ledger:
Cullen, who told detectives he "felt very compelled" to kill patients even though he knew it was wrong and wanted to stop, has already pleaded guilty to murdering 29 patients during his nursing career. He will be sentenced to life in prison as part of a plea agreement that guaranteed he would help authorities identify his victims, which he claimed could be as many as 40.
Cullen, a West Orange native, worked at 10 medical facilities in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania after graduating in 1987 from the Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing in Montclair. He began murdering patients soon after graduation, beginning with a Jersey City municipal court judge in his first job at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
Cullen also has pleaded guilty in New Jersey to killing three patients at Warren Hospital, five at Hunterdon Medical Center and 13 patients at Somerset Medical. In Pennsylvania, he has admitted to murdering one patient at Easton Hospital, one patient at Lehigh Valley Hospital and five at St. Luke's Hospital.
Sports fans tell us that Montclair lost a big game yesterday -- ok, the state championship -- to Morris Knolls. Read all about it here or here.
Scot Surbeck captures the first snowfall of the season.
Phil Read writes in today's Star Ledger about the 10-year anniversary of the murder of Ethel Duryea, a 59-year-old emergency room nurse who was shot and killed while walking her dog on Maolis Ave in Glen Ridge. A chilling memory for those who lived in Glen Ridge at the time.
The bizarre case was never solved. Speculation at the time ranged from rumors of a gang iniation rite to murmurs about a Mafia hit (Duryea supposedly had a son or son-in-law in law enforcement).
A decade later, Read reports, Glen Ridge Police Lt. Mark Dailey is still trying to solve the case. If you have a tip call him at 973.748.8400 ext 113.
So the Barista wakes up and there's this white stuff all over the place: the ground, the trees, the bushes. Real pretty.
And we have to say, now that we're in middle age, this amount of snow is just about perfect. Nice as decoration, but not enough shoveling to cause heart attacks, and who cares about playing in the stuff anyway?
The other thing that happened overnight is we had the strangest dream in which Tom Cruise, for a role in a movie, underwent a sex change operation and emerged as a blonde bombshell...
Your turn. Any interesting dreams? Or snow thoughts?
A new study by the National Association of Homebuilders finds our area (e.g, metro of New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.) on the top five list of least affordable places to live. We were the only metro area on the least-affordable list not in California.
Today, from 10 - 4, buy one-of-a-kind items at the Creative Women's Collective 2nd Annual Artisan's Fair. For details, click art at left to enlarge.
Joining the many talented women and their crafts, is Ivy Kirk and her snazzy knitted i-pod covers. Remember...you saw them here first.
Take note: Santa Claus is coming to town, specifically Montclair. The man in red and his matching fire truck will appear...
11 am -- South End Business District, Orange Road and Cedar Avenue
11:30 am -- Grove Street Center, behind Grove Street Pharmacy
12:30 pm -- St. James Church, Bellevue Avenue and Valley Road
Put the kids to work (and away from technology) or let your own creative juices flow and make beautiful holiday gifts for teachers, Grandma, or anyone that deserves something extra special. But do it this weekend -- because Montclair Beadworks is giving 20% off storewide in honor of their two year anniversary. Even if you think you're all thumbs, owners Mary Ann Cucci and Nadine Reidy can offer guidance and instruction to help make personalized necklaces, bracelets, earrings, as well as keychains and bookmarks. Travel the globe and choose glass beads from the Czech Republic, Austrian Swarovski crystal, African trading, Balinese silver and Japanese Raku Beads. 
Or make something very precious with semi-precious stones - lapis, amber, turquoise, coral, jasper, agate, amazonite garnet, amethyst, goldstone, ruby jade. Necklaces average around $10, depending on bead choice, and there is no fee for creative work on the premises. Count on about an hour and a half to make your beaded gift, especially if you are a first timer (remember, you have four hours free parking in the new Crescent Lot through December 31).
And you end up with something that looks this good...
Tomorrow, Bloomfield residents are needed. From Anne Prince:
This Saturday, December 3, we will once again be putting up the holiday decorations in Watsessing Park. We need volunteers to come out and help put them up. We are meeting at the flower bed (corner of Glenwood Ave and Maolis Ave by the Lawn Bowling Building) at 10am. The more people who can help, the faster it will be.
And merrier!
It's cold outside, so come in and warm up in the open thread...
Where's the fire? For the story, go to Food.
If you've got little ones who like the theater, this weekend in Baristaville is just the ticket. Among the highlights: West Orange Theater Under the Stars presents "The Dragon Slayers Academy," the Clifton JCC presents "Oliver" and Troupe of Vagabonds presents "Night of the Meek" at 12 Miles West. Also, Roscoe Orman's Gordon of Sesame Street concert comes to Maplewood. Times, places and (believe it or not) lots more kid activities on our Thrills page.
In addition, kids get free pictures with Santa, and a goody bag, at 12 Miles West this Friday and next from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Next week, Montclair-based ArtsPower, which travels around the country, stays home to present "The Rainbow Fish."
You can demolish our buildings, but you can't take away our ornaments. Kudos to the savvy gals from the Woman's Club of Upper Montclair for coming up with the must-have decoration of the season (part of a limited edition of "building" ornaments -- collect them, share them, then knock 'em down with your friends).
Purchase one to give as a gift or to hang on your own Christmas tree (yes, I did say Christmas), at these stores/locations: The Crane House; Keil's Pharmacy, Montclair Stationery, The Paper Boutique and the Woman's Club of Upper Montclair. Thanks to cstarling for the heads-up.
For the next "big" thing, go to Real Estate
Complaining about Steven Plofker just got kicked up a notch. The Post is horning in on our beat: Plofker, and wife Bobbi Brown (don't worry, we'll still buy your facepaint Bobbi, just not the vampire lipstick) get the Page SIX treatment today, and Steve channels his inner Clint Eastwood. From the New York Post:
Cosmetics queen Bobbi Brown might be losing customers in Montclair, N.J., because of the activities of her husband, real estate developer/lawyer Steven Plofker.
Plofker has Montclair residents up in arms over two projects he's building in the tony bedroom community. And although he's received the proper permits from the city, the locals charge that Plofker, who makes generous donations to politicians, has the town in his pocket.
The site of his most recent project is the former location of the Marlboro Inn, a historic hotel that hosted Olivia de Havilland, Helen Hayes and Arnold Palmer over the decades.
"They're building 10 high-end, not luxury, houses that use prefab materials," said one unhappy local resident. "The neighbors are up in arms because of the number of houses. They're small plots, and are all at angles to the others."
Plofker is also embroiled in a dispute with the owner of another of the homes he's built. The owner refers to the developer as "the nastiest guy I have ever come across," a source shared.
The owner, a publicist in New York, bought the house for $1.5 million and claims the roof leaks, among other problems. After six months trying to get Plofker to fix it, the owner threatened to sue him. A source says Plofker replied, "Go ahead. Make my day."
"I sympathize with the people who wish the old building could have remained, and I'm happy they have a strong opinion," Plofker told PAGE SIX, referring to the Marlboro Inn site. "It's premature to comment on the other site."
And just for the record, Baristanet is not "our source". Of course, we'd love to know who is...
They haven't raped a retarded girl, but the Glen Ridge teenage hip-hop group that calls itself Porno Hate Train is doing its best to sully the reputation of Ridger youth. The group has been trying to flog its CD's at the high school for $5. But, we hear, assistant principal Jonathan Heitmann put an end to that. Those who didn't snag a disk can still hear some of the group's offensive lyrics here.UPDATE: Porno Hate Train website no longer live.
Aside from hateful and obscene mentions of specific classmates, Porno Hate Train's almost eponymous "The Hate Train" contains such clever lyrics as this:
Today is World AIDS Day and locally, Montclair State University will have the AIDS quilt on display. For information about viewing this moving piece of art and memorial, click here.
There's a holiday party tonight and you're invited.
Just choose whether you're up for storybook characters or a Bush bash. At the Starbucks on Valley Road, the politics takes place outside, but free coffee, treats and raffles for prizes inside from 6-8 pm. Starbucks dowtown will also party with free grog java, treats and prizes from 6-8 as well. Also promised, an appearance by Winnie the Pooh and reindeer, too.
Tired of the same old presents every year or worse, schlepping to the mall? We've got shopping elves scoping out Baristaville's great gifts. Find this first batch of goodies at The Banyan Tree:
Give beer aficianados, (this site has more than a few) a stylish way to imbibe favorite micro-brews, with chic, colorful beer steins manufactured in the Czech Republic. Ritzenhoff comissioned Eastern European graphic artists to put one-of-a-kind designs on the steins. Glasses are hand painted, and numbered, limited edition pieces. Gift boxed individually, with 4 matching coasters, $45.
Wrap that special someone who exudes warmth and beauty in one of these exquisitely made jewel-tone shawls from India. Generously sized, in handmade silk or wool, they're adorned with glam gorgeous beading and accented with leather, tortoise shell and metal trims. Assorted colors, $155 - $370.
Earlier this week, we were tipped off to this article about our acting governor's beliefs that there should be steroid testing, in "some form," in the state's high schools. I'm guessing there are a lot of legal hurdles to get to that point, but considering that steroids are already illegal, that might not be that big of a problem.
What do you think, loyal Barista readers? Do we see a need for testing in high schools for sports players, or is this just going a little crazy? If you're interested in learning more about this, you can try and get your way into the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center today from 4 to 9 pm, where WFAN's "Mike and the Mad Dog" show will be live, with Governor Codey present, to have a town hall meeting on this subject and a number of others.
And, because we love the Daily Show so much, we ask you to make sure and view this short segment where Codey is interviewed by Jason Jones, who's all about the new slogans the state is considering. [Thanks, MyManMisterC, for the Daily Show tip!]
We don't think they're going for subtle here. That would be the Glen Ridge White Candle in Upstairs Window Contest, to be announced shortly. But if you live in Bloomfield and you give to PSE&G this time of year, here's a decorating contest for you.
Don't you love it when big, impersonal organizations actually listen? Joann from Watchung Ave writes with that rare heartwarming story about NJ Transit, which was, just a few weeks ago, really getting on her nerves. In fact, at that time, she distributed this note to her fellow riders:
Dear Montclair Boonton Line Commuter-
Are you tired of waking up earlier, only to arrive later and later at NY Penn Station ???
This train is scheduled to arrive at NY Penn Station at 7:43 am. Since the new NJT schedule went into effect on October 30th, this train has been 10–15 minutes late EVERY day.
Please call or E-mail NJ Transit and ask them to fix this chronic problem.
Not only did NJ Transit listen, not only did Joann's Monday train show at Penn Stations five minutes ahead of schedule, but NJ Transit thanked the passengers of the Montclair Boonton Line for their complaints.
Speaking of that $1 million Essex County just got to fix up Brookdale Park, we might just have to give some of that back.
Essex County has just been named in a $2 million racial profiling lawsuit by a black man who spent a week in jail after being stopped for speeding. Although the man, Albert Florence, was stopped and jailed in Burlington County, the suit names Essex County because he says county clerks failed, for a week, to clear him of false charges of a $1,574 judgement against him.
Continue reading "Note to Cops: Black People Can Hire Lawyers Too" »
While we're talking drainage and irrigation problems, can we get Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. to make a stop at Montclair's Edgemont Park? 
He won't need an umbrella, but galoshes, even water skis, may be in order. How about sharing part of that $1 million allocated for Brookdale Park with Edgemont?
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