A second bomb threat — this time on Freeman Hall, a dorm — disrupted the routine of Montclair State students today. The dorm has been searched and reopened, but students enjoying “premium dinner night” had to leave their dinners to evacuate. Bummer.
This message just went out to all students:

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It’s coming up on Mother’s Day, and Baristaville has three local authors pushing new books to help mothers, and women in general, improve their life game. From Julia Roberts, there’s “Motherhood to Otherhood,” a book that uses lessons from pregnancy to help women give birth to other dreams. See a little video for the “Motherhood to Otherhood” concept or check out Julia’s website here. Julia will be signing her book this Saturday at Watchung Booksellers from 1 to 2:30 pm and will participate on a 7:30 pm panel with Karin Abarbinel (“Birthing the Elephant”) on Thursday May 9 at the Clifton Commons Barnes & Noble.
From MEWS maven Pam Satran we have “1,000 Ways to Be a Slightly Better Woman.”

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Today is Yom HaShoa, the annual memorial for the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. The Montclair Clergy Association Community holds its annual Yom HaShoa Observance tonight (April 30) at B’nai Keshet at 7:30 pm.

Please join us for a community service of witness in remembrance of the Holocaust. In this service we join together as a community of faith to remember the victims of the Holocaust and to recommit ourselves to taking action against genocide. We will listen to the story of a survivor, a living witness. We will also read from Bnai Keshet’s Czech Torah, rescued from the Holocaust, a silent witness to its lost community.

Bnai Keshet is at 99 South Fullerton Ave. The shoes (shown left) are on display at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

UPDATE: The student center has just reopened. 2:34 pm.
We’re receiving tips on a evacuation at MSU as a result of a bomb threat. Students received this email alert…

“MSU: There is a bomb threat at the Student Center. Please stay away from building. Building has been evacuated. 12:37 p.m.

Photo by Matthew McCullough, Baristanet’s new intern and MSU correspondent, who descries the scene:

Right now it’s just taped off and traffic is diverted … students are just annoyed and playing football in the quad.

Baristanet is again making news in the media world. This time, it’s our partnership with the Star Ledger (yes, the Star Ledger!) to create a print guide to Montclair. Last week, Baristanet founder Debbie Galant and Star Ledger editor in chief Jim Willse spoke about the partnership to a group of newspaper and web editors from all over the world.
The official matchmaker was new media evangelist Jeff Jarvis, who suggested the partnership during his Networked Media Summit in New York last October.
The co-branded 36-page “Explore Montclair” guide will have stories by Baristanet and the Ledger, and even a special Montclair crossword puzzle by Tony Orbach. It goes out to 70,000 readers on May 15. If you’re not a home subscriber, you’ll be able to pick it up at the Montclair Public Library and many other locations (more on that later.)
The ad reservation deadline is tomorrow. If you want to underwrite history, let us know right away.

The infamous Wet girl, whose presence on a Bloomfield billboard beckoning “gentlemen” to a go-go joint in Belleville inspired vandalism, is back. The torn billboard has been taped back up, but one slit remains, giving her a peek-a-boo blouse. And since our previous story, a graffiti artist has added a spray-painted tag to the display next to Brookside Park. Can it get any uglier?

All the different Montclair slates got you dizzy? Don’t know the difference between Unity and Partnership Montclair? Tonight’s your night to hear the three mayoral candidates and their running mates debate. The League of Women Voters and Montclair PTA Council sponsors the 7 pm event, which takes place at the Montclair High School LGI Room, 100 Chestnut Street. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Come early to submit questions to the moderators.

The thorny politics of parking in Montclair just got more prickly…Montclair Police Department’s new procedures for overnight parking approval appeared on the township’s website this week. No more spontaneous sleep-overs for Montclairians and their guests if they need to park on the street. Too bad if you have one drink too many, or are too sick to drive home. Residents used to be able to call in for an overnight parking “ok.” Now, you’ll have to email MPD your request 72 hours in advance with a note from your mom explaining why permission needs to be granted. New regs take effect May 5.
But wait – the regs also state “If your request for overnight permission is denied, you will be notified via return e-mail.”
Chief of Police David Sabagh tells us the policy is “just a change to provide a better way for us to track and limit requests.” (Town ordinance 327-15 prohibits overnight parking, between 2-5am, with some exceptions.)
Hmmm…what are the grounds for denial? The whole issue has got lots of people pissed off about parking…so what else is new?

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Did you know there’s a day for honoring newspaper carriers? It’s September 4. There’s also Cartoonists’ Day (May 3), Doctors’ Day (March 30) AND Hairstylists’ Appreciation Day (April 30). So why shouldn’t there be a Webmasters’ Day?
Today, April 29, GoDaddy.com will send out special eCards thanking Webmasters around the globe for their tireless efforts to keep us all up and running. To make sure your Webmaster gets thanked on Webmasters’ Day, send an eCard (for free) now.

“The Internet wouldn’t be where it is today without this under-appreciated group who keep content on the net fresh,” GoDaddy.com CEO and Founder Bob Parsons said. “We hope the holiday will inspire gratitude for Webmasters around the world.”

If you’re a parent living in today’s over-programmed, competitive culture of kids’ sports, you’ve probably wondered — is it all too much? How much should we push our kids to perform? How much does excellence in sports impact, say, college admissions? And sometimes you gotta ask who’s the bigger jock – the child or the parent?
Join a panel discussion of these questions and more at “YOUR KID AND SPORTS: What Every Parent Should Know, tomorrow night, 7:30 pm at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center.
Bringing sports savvy to the evening is Tom Farrey, senior writer at ESPN and author of “Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children.” Joining Tom, from Baristaville, are panelists Shaun Powell, Ted Fiore, and Nancy Star.

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