…And the show will go on at the historic Wellmont Theater in Montclair. Yesterday, Montclair Entertainment LLC signed a lease agreement wtih the Rosen Group which will bring the abandoned venue back to life.
Principal Andy Feltz, a Montclair resident, says he founded the partnership with several promoters from Manhattan, and promises that they’ll be working hand-in-hand with the community to make sure this venture is done right. “The Wellmont Theater is in my hometown, my kids go to school here,” he explained. “We’ll do the right thing.”
We’ll update as we hear more…in the meantime, what acts would you like to see when the doors reopen?

From the Essex County Prosecutor’s office:

An arrest has been made in connection with the fatal stabbing of Richard Banks, 40, of Montclair, in Orange, Wednesday evening. Last night, detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Orange PD arrested Khayree Callender, 27, of Elizabeth. Callender was arrested in his apartment on W. Jersey Street, in Elizabeth. He was charged with murder and weapons offenses. The motive of the crime is still undetermined. He will be arraigned on Wednesday. Bail has been set at $500,000.

Tomorrow, Saturday March 1, it will be interesting to see who shows up for the free seminar on local administration and Montclair’s non-partisan form of government. Co-sponsored by Town Manager Joe Hartnett and the Montclair Times, Hartnett says there’s been lots of interest from residents and local politicians. Tommy Russo, are you going? Showtime begins at 9am in council chambers.
Tonight, and every Friday, it’s Cabaret Night at Bloomfield’s Piano’s Bar & Grill. If you’re into seeing some more local theatre, Sarah Ruhl’s Melancholy Play is at Dreamcatcher Theatre all weekend. The cast of Cats will be purring Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Bloomfield High. For other weekend events, check our Calendar, and while you’re out and driving about, remember to have your personal assistant answer your cell phone – or else.

Asbestos exposure at the workplace can also work its way into the home, which appears to be the case for one former Glen Ridge family:…From EcoRealty

We’ve dealt with many buyers who’ve nearly walked away from their “dream home” because of toxic asbestos issues that turned up during the home inspection. If “friable” or exposed in worn insulation, it usually becomes the responsibility of the seller to cure the issue. In a job-related death, it can take years to prove liability in the courts.
On Wednesday, a Bergen County jury found two Industrial giants liable for $30.3 million in the death of a former Glen Ridge resident, Mark Buttotta in 2002. He had worked in GM warehouses in Bloomfield(where he grew up) and Englewood. From AP and FoxBusiness.com:
The award is believed to be the largest in New Jersey for mesothelioma, an aggressive lung cancer. The disease killed 50-year-old Mark Buttitta in 2002, although he had only handled auto parts containing asbestos while working summers at giant GM warehouses in New Jersey, Maimon said.

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South Mountain reservation has been saved – for the time being. The sharpshooters are gone, and so are 213 deer, or possibly 338, depending on how you’re counting. From The Star Ledger:

Of the 213 animals killed over the course of the hunt, 88 were male and 125 were female. Nearly all of the does were pregnant, some with twins. Bernier estimated the culling prevented an additional 125 deer from being born in the reservation.
The county executive [Joseph DiVincenzo] estimated the cost of the hunt at just under $60,000, factoring in Bernier’s contract, overtime for sheriff’s deputies and park employees and the cost of butchering the animals. The venison — estimated at more than 15,000 pounds — was donated to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.

Now can we all just get over it and move on? Here are closing remarks from Essex County Exec Joseph DiVincenzo:

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Be afraid. Be very, very, very afraid. No, we’re not talking about a scary pandemic of lethal skin infections spread from sharing germ-laden yoga mats.
Fear and Yoga in New Jersey, our own Debra Galant’s second novel, has hit bookstores and is now on sale Watchung Booksellers.
Was there a Baristaville inspiration for the main character, an uptight yoga teacher named Nina (tongues are wagging that it could be Jyoti of Starseed)? Deb’s not saying, you’ll just have to read the book. There are some other eerie hyperlocal coincidences Deb wasn’t aware of until after she finished.
Mary Paige Snell, a yoga teacher in Bloomfield, recalls that Yoga Montclair in Upper Montclair had a flood (Fear and Yoga starts with Nina’s chakra meditation fountain overflowing and flooding into the feng shui studio below). And there actually is a feng shui practitioner below the yoga studio of the Yoga and Meditation Center of Montclair on Bloomfield Ave.
Besides getting yoga practitioners in a twist, Galant is girding herself for possible backlash from Jews (Nina is a self-hating Jew, who’s become a Unitarian, and her son Adam wants a bar mitzvah solely for the money).
Read the first chapter here and tell us what you think. Maybe you can help Deb, too, with her Diablo Cody fascination.
Upcoming events in the jump…

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Good morning, Baristaville! Are you caffeinated? Most of us were able to make it through Starbuck’s national three-hour publicity stunt shutdown this week without suffering withdrawals. Stephen Colbert, who must’ve missed the Dunkin’ Donuts memo, took it pretty hard. Warning: contains suggestive material and partial nudity.

Yes, we had technical difficulties today. But those have been fixed, and now we’re trying something completely different in partnership with an Israeli company, LiveU. Broadcasting live from Pianos Bar & Grill in Bloomfield, we have the Swing Band trio: Tricia Slafta on vocals, Richard Reiter on piano, soprano sax and flute, and Tim Metz on bass. Welcome to the future!
UPDATE: The broadcast is over. But here’s how it looked earlier Thursday night at Pianos as our Israeli technical team transmitted our first live shot via the internet.

Want to have your mac and cheese and sandwich, too? Find out on Food.