Firefighters with shovels are digging out ashes following a house fire that claimed a life on Bessida Street in Bloomfield. The early morning fire, which could be seen from the GSP, was put by firemen from Bloomfield, Belleville and East Orange. The victim was a woman in her 50s.

Find out about a kid cookie decorating class today on Barista Kids.

NJ Sen. Bob Menendez is behind a bill that if passed would make driving while texting illegal nation wide.
The bill would require all states to ban drivers from sending texts or email messages, or risk federal highway funds. In Jersey, a recent poll shows NJ drivers have increased texting behavior.
What else should be banned while driving?

New Jersey State Council on The Arts released its list of 2010 grant recipients, doling out a total of $14,418,665. In our area, Montclair Art Museum received $242,948, down from last year’s grant of $296,278; Jazz House Kids in West Orange received a first-time grant of $5,700 for its “Generations for Jazz” program. The highest grant recipients saw declines of close to 20% or more from last year.
The council now has a local connection: the Star Ledger reports that Sharon Burton Turner of Montclair is the new chairwoman.

Residents of the neighborhood of Clark Street, on the Bloomfield-Glen Ridge border, woke up this morning to discover that someone had played a game of bumper cars overnight. Here’s what a tipster wrote in:

Last night a car created a path of destruction in Bloomfield and Glen Ridge. I am not sure where it started, but it continued down Thomas Street where a driver hit no less than 3 parked cars. The driver turned onto Clark Street in Glen Ridge where they hit another car. He/she continued onto Bloomfield Ave where they crashed in front of the Lee Miles auto center on Bloomfield Ave near Liberty Street.

Just two cars, according to Glen Ridge Police Chief John Magnier, who wrote:

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