The John A. Bukowski Shelter for Animals is seeking homes for several cats who were victims of a house fire a few months back. After being forced from their home and housed in an unfamiliar environment at the shelter, these cats are understandably timid and confused. What they need is a quiet home with lots of love and attention. These cats are attractive with great markings and all are neutered/spayed and up-to-date on their shots. If you have experience working with shy cats and can offer a loving home to one (or more!) of these cats, contact the John A. Bukowski Shelter for Animals at 973-748-0194 or email here.

The long closed waiting room at the Bloomfield train station eastbound platform reopened this morning with local dignitaries on hand to celebrate the event. Until today, commuters had to wait outside in all weather.
Warren Levinson got to try out the new digs this morning and reports:

The waiting room is pleasant, with a vaulted wood-beam ceiling (the station dates from 1916). The restoration was done with a $1.35 million federal grant, which also paid for improved platform lighting and public address and one bicycle rack (capacity: 2, but it’s better than 0).
NJ Transit says the station is the most heavily used on the Montclair-Boonton line. There is more restorable and developable space on the westbound platform side, but it is privately owned. The owner is said to be looking for commercial tenants. There was a pizzeria on the lower level for a while, but it’s been closed for at least a decade.

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As the manhunt for Kenneth Duckett continues, Montclair Police have asked us to pass on the following information. A reverse 911 call has gone out to Montclair residents from police who are seeking information from residents of North Willow street in Montclair. The call is asking residents of this street who may have found a dark colored T-shirt on their property or near the curb line to call the Montclair Police.
The system cannot isolate the calls to a specific street, so MPD is getting inundated with calls from residents as far away as Kenneth Road. The call is specific to North Willow residents and residents of that street who have information can contact Lt. James Carlucci at 973-509-4778.

It’s a Montclair tradition — time to gripe about those kindergarten assignment letters. A reader writes…

Monclair K-school assignment letters arrived yesterday…..they state that 80% of parents get their first or second choice. A completely unscientific sampling of 20 families reveals that not one of them got their 1st, or 2nd, or 3rd or even 4th choice…..most of the 20 got their 6th choice, a handful of the 20 got their 5th choice. So if there is really no choice in the matter why bother with the whole expensive charade…….just assign everyone to the closest school….at least the district could save on a very expensive bussing program, and cut headquarters staff required to manage the ‘choice’ process.

Here’s a completely unscientific poll…

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As the search for Kenneth Duckett, the man accused of murdering Monica Paul continues, the following email went out to Bradford parents and caregivers:

By now, most of you have heard about the tragic shooting at the YMCA. While this tragedy has had an enormous impact on our community at large, the loss hits even closer to home, as the victim’s children are part of Bradford’s student body.
As we learn more about the needs of the children we will update you and determine how our school and the Bradford PTA can provide support for them. For now, please keep this family in your thoughts.
The Essex County Mental Health Association is offering free counseling services to any member of the community who feels that they or their child may need assistance dealing with this incident. Their Help Line is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 7:00 pm by calling 973.509.9777. They can also be contacted at www.mhaessex.org .

The Baristanet crew sends out its heartiest best wishes to Miss Martta Rose, who becomes a married woman today, with former Glen Ridge Mayor Carl Bergmanson officiating. Please send us a picture, so we can replace this Facebook picture with a stunning shot of the lady in white!
Starting here, starting now, she’s Mrs. Martta.

Up for a little Manga with your Mocha? This afternoon, the Café Eclectic on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair will be hosting a Young Artists of Montclair Art Show, featuring the illustration and comic art of local Montclair youths and their instructor, Teresa DeFabrizio. The family-friendly event will be taking place at 4P.M. and running until 7. The actual work will be displayed until the end of July.
Explains deFabrizio, “These kids have a real passion for art–particularly drawing manga, or Japanese comics. The students were given a deadlined project, conceptual character designs, and created completed comics to display for this showing. They came up with wonderful, imaginative work!”

Come see a performance of Moliere’s ‘The Learned Ladies’:
The Montclair Public Library presents “The Learned Ladies”, the classic comedy by Moliere. Performed by the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Next Stage Ensemble, the cast includes three social climbing ladies, two innocent lovers and one greedy uninspired poet. This play was considered by Moliere to be his best work, one he labored over for several years. He was delighted with the result, for good reason. how often do we have brilliant theatre by the man who created the Comedie Francaise right here in Baristaville? Don’t miss out!

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Latin music recording artist Mauricio De Souza, canceled due to bad weather last Sunday will play at Montclair Center Stage this Sunday at 2pm. Mauricio plays Brazilian/ Bossa Nova beats, and will be followed by performer Carrie Jackson, taking you down the Jazzy, R & B road, 4-6pm. Montclair Center Stage is at the intersection of Church Street and Bloomfield Avenue. As always, free. For more weekend delights, look over fun stuff in our Calendar, or tell us if you’ve got something good going on…

How much is a season ticket in the new Giants/Jets stadium going to cost? A heckuva lot…From CBS.Sportsonline:

Giants co-owner John Mara said most of the 82,500 seats in the stadium, scheduled to open in 2010, will carry seat license fees of $1,000. Less than 5,000 seats will carry license fees of $20,000.
Mara acknowledged he is worried about angering longtime fans of the Super Bowl champions. The charge applies to each seat a ticket-holder owns.
“We tried hard to come up with a plan that guarantees everybody the opportunity to stay in the building,” he said.
He said it would be “extremely difficult” to build the $1.6 billion stadium in the Meadowlands — whose cost is being split evenly by the two teams — without asking fans to help pay for it through seat licenses. Mara said the license fees will raise $300 million to $400 million.

Sports fans, it’s your time to vent…