Weekend Roundup: July 30 – Aug. 1

Friday, Jul 30, 2010 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (0)

kinetoscope.jpgFree dance classes, old-fashioned movie-making, gospel brunch and more. It’s a rocking transition from July to August this weekend in Baristaville. Here are some ideas to start. For more, check out our calendar and Barista Kids.
Friday

  • See some local teens and 20-somethings in super productions of “The Drowsy Chaperone” in Tenafly, “South Pacific” in Little Falls and the Paper Mill’s “New Voices” concert in Millburn. Check listings for show times and other days.
  • Wine and cheese Fridays at Watchung Booksellers. 5-7 p.m. Shmooze with the literati and pick up your beach reading.

    Continue Reading

    • Remembering Jennifer English

    Friday, Jul 30, 2010 10:12am  |  COMMENTS (3)

    jenniferenglish.jpgA funeral for Jennifer English will be held Monday, August 2nd, at O’Boyle Funeral Home, 309 Broad Street in Bloomfield; relatives and friends are invited to attend. English (pictured center, with two friends on a hiking trip at Harriman State Park last October) was fatally struck by an NJ Transit locomotive on July 26. Baristanet sends condolences to English’s family and friends.
    Photo provided by Wendell Alann

    Cat Missing in Upper Montclair

    Friday, Jul 30, 2010 10:00am  |  COMMENTS (12)

    ernie.jpg
    A reader from Upper Montclair is missing a cat named Ernie.
    She writes:

    A black-and-gray striped male tiger cat, adult male, with no collar was lost in the vicinity of Godfrey Road in Upper Montclair. He has been missing since July 27.

    If you’ve seen Ernie, please contact pets@baristanet.com.
    UPDATE: Fran Pelzman Liscio provided me with this photo. I also heard from another neighbor who sighted Ernie in his yard and I forwarded his information to the cat’s people.

    Shout Out to Montclair Spies on Daily Show

    Friday, Jul 30, 2010 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (10)


    The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
    Liev Schreiber
    www.thedailyshow.com
    Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

    The timing for the release of Russian spy thriller Salt, starring Liev Schreiber and Angelina Jolie (is she a beautiful Russian spy?), coincided perfectly with the United States’ real espionage story, starring our own spy haven, Montclair. Kudos to Sony Pictures’ marketing team for pulling that off! Check out this video clip from last night’s The Daily Show, as Schreiber and Jon Stewart give a big shout out to our Russian spies, and the other “artistic and semitic” people who live in Montclair.

    Montclair Bicyclists Do a Nice Version of Critical Mass

    BY  |  Thursday, Jul 29, 2010 4:00pm  |  COMMENTS (6)

    bike montclair ride by LL.jpgOrganizers of Montclair’s Last Friday bicycle rides are admirers of the Critical Mass rides that take place in New York, San Francisco and other cities — up to a point.
    They like the idea of getting cyclists together one evening a month to show that “the streets are for everyone,” in the words of Laura Torchio of Bike & Walk Montclair. They like the leaderless aspect of the rides. Just try getting someone involved in the enterprise to admit that they’re actually in charge.

    Continue Reading

    MSU Increases Tuition Four Percent

    BY  |  Thursday, Jul 29, 2010 3:00pm  |  COMMENTS (1)

    MSU Stock photo.jpgLast Thursday Montclair State University approved a four percent increase in tuition for the 2010-2010 academic year.
    The four percent increase is the maximum Gov. Christie will allow any college or university to raise tuition.
    MSU President Susan A. Cole said in a press release that the increase was modest and “does not begin to make up for the recent 15 percent budget cut in State funding assistance to the University.”

    Continue Reading

    Jinxed Commute

    BY  |  Thursday, Jul 29, 2010 12:45pm  |  COMMENTS (13)

    TrainCrowd.jpgBaristanet contributor Brian Glaser follows up on the commuting beat.
    If there was a meeting of New Jersey Transit executives to discuss their recently crunched numbers measuring on-time performance, clearly nobody spoke up with a playground-simple truth: “If we say this out loud, we’re jinxing ourselves.”
    Since the report came out, it has earned its share disbelief from both The New York Times and regular NJ Transit riders. And, as someone should have seen coming, it was the opening salvo in a pretty bad week of rush hour on-time performance: on Tuesday, a fatality on the tracks near Trenton effectively halted peak-time trains along the Northeast Corridor and sent rippling delays through the rest of the system. When I arrived in Maplewood after having re-routed myself through Hoboken, I was one of only three people on the 6:55pm jitney, since the Midtown Direct from Penn Station hadn’t arrived–though no delay alerts were posted for our part of the system.

    Continue Reading

    Essex County Arrests 13 in County Jailhouse “Concierge Service”

    BY  |  Thursday, Jul 29, 2010 11:34am  |  COMMENTS (4)

    UPDATE: The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has officially released the names of those charged in what is now being called Operation Jail Breach. The list of accused includes 5 Bloomfield residents: Essex County corrections officer William Rupp, 30, Chang Park, 25, Anthony Rotonda, 39, Joseph Lehman, 25, and Robert Koval Jr., 31, all whom were charged with conspiracy to violate the narcotics laws.
    Thirteen people are accused of running a jailhouse “concierge service,” smuggling in drugs, cell phones and other contraband to prisoners. The first arrest was Essex County corrections officer Joseph Mastriani, 30, of Nutley, who was arrested when he arrived to the jail to work this morning and is considered to be the ringleader of the service. Full story from the Star Ledger.

    Staging, Showcasing: It All Comes Down To Editing

    BY  |  Thursday, Jul 29, 2010 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (13)

    Montclair realtor Adriana O’Toole talks about the merits, no matter the term, of editing your home before you sell.
    Had an interesting speaker at our office meeting today on the virtues of ‘ staging’ -however her term of ‘ show casing’ is probably a better description of the activity. Sellers are averse to the word staging I think because it might imply that their home needs some ‘face lifting’ or change. Although it might be true, they don’t like to hear that. After all, that’s how they like it! However, the best features of the home and those that a buyer might like better, are the object of the exercise.
    We all know that removing all the personal items, ( children’s photos, trophies, awards, diplomas, etc.) is a good idea. It is intimidating to a buyer and possibly a young couple, maybe childless by design or not, not athletic, not an Emmy or Oscar recipient, to try to emulate that as a way of living in the house. Bland is best – almost boring – but this way a buyer can visualize their furniture and art work and belongings in the space.

    Continue Reading

    Mayor Ed Koch: Booker Must Act in Gaymon Case

    BY  |  Thursday, Jul 29, 2010 10:25am  |  COMMENTS (26)

    UPDATE: Booker tweets back, pointing out (as some commenters have) that Branch Brook Park is not his domain.

    Kotch going 2 clarify on radio. Police involved NOT Nwk police, it was a county park, I have NO authority there. They’re Sheriffs officers

    SECOND UPDATE: After talking with Mayor Booker on the phone last night, Mayor Koch came away with a better understanding of the Newark Police Department vs. the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. Here’s what Mayor Koch says today:

    I mistakenly concluded that the undercover police officer who fired the weapon that killed Mr. Gaymon in the Branch Brook Park was a member of Newark’s Police Department and, therefore, under the control of Mayor Cory Booker. In fact, the police officer was a member of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
    I spoke with Mayor Booker yesterday, he having called me to correct the misinformation, and apologized for my error. He is very concerned with the killing incident and seeking ways to prevent a reoccurrence.

    Ed Koch from Wikipedia.jpgFormer New York City Mayor Ed Koch has weighed in on the shooting of Dean Gaymon in Branch Brook Park, saying that Newark Mayor Cory Booker must get involved in the case. Koch, who has a listserv of about 5,000, called for Booker’s involvement in an email yesterday.
    “Mayor Booker’s leadership is essential in this case and in changing the policy of how Newark’s police force deals with public homosexual activity,” Koch said in a telephone interview with Baristanet this morning. Koch dealt with his share of police shooting incidents during his 3 terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989.
    In his email yesterday, Koch likened the situation to the 1969 Stonewall incident in New York City during Mayor John Lindsay’s administration that has become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement. As a result of the violent demonstrations by the gay community in reaction to a brutal police raid, Mayor Lindsay changed police policy regarding the treatment of homosexual activity.
    “Mayor Booker is a very fine person, and much in the mold of Mayor Lindsay,” Mayor Koch wrote. “Ultimately, Mayor Booker is in charge of the cops, and it’s up to him to step in.”

    Continue Reading

    Featured Comment

    Oh I get it now ....A meat and greet.
    Posted by
    johnqp

    Tip, Follow, Friend, Subscribe

    Links & Information

    Baristanet on Flickr

    Browse all photos...