Say Cheese, Thief!

Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 11:33am  |  COMMENTS (3)

All’s well that ends well for John Myers of Bloomfield, who had a bag with wallet, hotel and car rental keys stolen when he posed with his family for a picture in Madison, Wisconsin last weekend. The alleged thief was caught in the act of snatching Myers’s bag in the very same photograph. Police arrested a homeless man, Glenn Lambright.

Giant Tree Down Near Brookdale’s Rose Garden

Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (17)

BigTree.jpg
During a stroll in Brookdale Park yesterday, a reader tipped us off about this enormous downed, totally hollowed-out (maple?) tree, which landed about 20 feet from the Rose Garden (seen here through the center of the trunk).
According to Greta Goss, a volunteer with the Brookdale Park Conservancy, “this fallen tree is an example of the dead trees that have been accumulating throughout Brookdale Park after multiple storms. Some are hidden behind invasive weeds that appear to be the size of trees, while others openly litter the western side of the park near the Ridgewood and Watchung Avenue entrance. Many have been there for years.”
The Conservancy is trying to raise money and work in conjunction with the county to remove this debris; especially those branches still dangling over the paths used daily.The recent deaths which resulted from falling branches in another Olmsted Brothers asset, Central Park, have made this situation impossible to ignore.
Our reporter, Geoff Gove, observed that the inside of the tree hollow seemed damp and soft (perhaps rotted), supporting the idea that the rains may have hastened its demise. “The condition of the trees and park are so out of control that few, if any, are ever identified before they fall. That’s why the situation is so dangerous,” Goss explained.
Photo and reporting by Geoff Gove, a Baristanet contributor.

Monica’s Law Helps Protect Victims of Domestic Violence

Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 10:00am  |  COMMENTS (8)

monica paul.jpgTwo years ago on June 26, 31-year-old Monica Paul was shot and killed at the Montclair YMCA in front of her 11-year-old daughter. Her ex-boyfriend, Kenneth Duckett, who she had recently filed a restraining order against, was the alleged shooter.
Last month, Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin, Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein, Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver and Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer introduced legislation to better protect victims of domestic violence and their children last month.
The legislation (A-3137), or “Monica’s Law,” would create a risk assessment pilot program in memory of Paul.

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Hot from the Kettle: Farm to Table – Cooking with Alison Bermack

Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 10:00am  |  COMMENTS (2)

cookingwithfriends.jpgLast week I visited Matarazzo Farm in North Caldwell. I brought home about 25 pounds of tomatoes, half Roma, and half Beefsteak. Not a single tomato met supermarket standards of visual perfection, yet all were perfectly suited for the sauce I created with Cooking with Friends‘ Alison Bermack.
A Montclair mom committed to serving healthy fare to her family, Alison grew up spending a lot of time in the kitchen with her father. There, she learned family recipes, cooking skills and appreciation for communal cooking.
Taking that love for communal cooking one step further sparked the creation for Cooking with Friends. Tomatoes also played a part. A friend told Alison she had overabundance of garden tomatoes. Alison offered her family recipe for tomato sauce and the two began transforming the tomatoes into sauce, all the while sharing stories, laughing, and giving intermittent tastes to their children.
Alison soon began cooking with men and women all over Montclair, hosting food swaps and improvisational cooking dates. This led to the formation of Cooking with Friends LLC in 2006.
Cooking with Friends has thrived in Montclair and developed a sister network in Denver, run by Alison’s best friend from high school, Shannon Henry Kleiber. Together, Alison and Shannon publish monthly Cooking With Friends e-newsletters; they’re also on Facebook and Twitter.
Alison and I spent a morning turning my Matarazzo tomatoes into sauce. Want to see how we did it? Watch the video:

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Straten Holds Rally Outside Montclair Town Hall, in the Rain

Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010 8:45am  |  COMMENTS (12)

Straten Rally.jpgAbout 80 people stood outside Montclair’s municipal building last night at a rainy rally for Roland Straten, a Republican candidate for Congress in NJ’s 8th District.
Straten, a Montclair resident, held the “Let the Truth be Heard” rally in response to what he believes is the town’s refusal to provide equal time in public meeting space, after incumbent Congressman Bill Pascrell’s Town Hall meeting on Aug. 9. Straten says Pascrell’s meeting was a campaign event, while Paul Brubaker, Pascrell’s spokesman, told Baristanet that the congressman has had an August public forum every year since he took office in January of 1997.
Straten also requested similar use of town space for Aug. 14 but was denied. “They won’t let us inside, they have us standing outside in the rain and dark,” Straten said. “They let Pascrell inside though.”

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Montclair Station

Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010 7:04pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Bellevue Avenue
Montclair, NJ
973-337-5828.
Casual, Family-friendly dining at the Upper Montclair NJ Transit station.
Full bar, serving an eclectic menu, Lunch and Dinner.
Review

Millburn Garage Snake Traveled 3.8 Miles, Now Reunited with Keeper

Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010 6:45pm  |  COMMENTS (7)

MillburnSnake.jpgOn Saturday we told you about the large boa constrictor python that was hangin’ out in the South Mountain Estate section of Millburn in a Greenwood Drive garage, only to be found by a surprised resident. A few minutes ago, the Millburn Township Police Department reported that the snake, has been reunited with his owner. Amazingly, the reptile seems to have swam and slithered 3.8 miles! Millburn Police’s Lieutenant Peter T. Eakley told us that the snake had become the department’s “mascot for the week,” but that they’re glad he’s home again.
Here’s what the police report says:

Surprisingly the snake, whose ownership was confirmed via a series of photos and other investigative means, is owned by a South Orange resident, who resides 3.8 miles from where the snake was found. It is summarized that the snake got out from the owner’s cage and made his way a short distance to the east branch of the Rahway River. The snake swam or was swept downstream in the currents and made its way out of the river going into a Greenwood Drive home also located near the river.
The snake’s owner was instructed as per New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Law Enforcement Division to obtain the needed permit for ownership. The snake’s owner, whose name is not being released, stated that he was on vacation for the last week and found out a few days ago that his reptile had slid away from his home. The owner found out the Millburn Police Department had found a snake from the numerous reports on this incident by the media.
The Millburn Police Department is happy the wayward reptile was reunited with his owner. In addition, MPD thanks our partners in the print, computer, and broadcast media which helped get this information out and come to a successful conclusion.

Montclair: Two Zips, One Community

Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010 5:00pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

montclairtwozips.jpgHey Montclair: Whether you’re 07042 or 07043 (note: it makes no mention of Upper/Lower), this sweet sign from Watchung Plaza Home has you covered ($32.50, plus 15% off for sale). If you want to show your town spirit, they’ve also got Essex County covered with these cocktail napkins.
Prefer to celebrate your town more subtly?

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Peter Ngqibs: Music for Mentoring Concert

Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010 4:00pm  |  COMMENTS (1)

peter480.jpg Read to the end for a ticket giveaway.
Baristaville musician Peter Ngqibs will be hosting a charity concert called Finding Infinity in Maplewood this Sunday (Aug. 29).
The concert will benefit Infinite Family, a new and innovative non-profit organization that connects caring adults with teens and pre-teens in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only mentoring program that uses weekly video conversations to establish long-term nurturing relationships. These relationships with adults internationally are designed to transform young people in Sub-Saharan Africa into fully contributing members of their country’s sustainable, developing society. Anyone over the age of 21 can apply to mentor a child in for a minimum of a half hour per week.

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Zoning on Millburn Chai Center: Hearings Go On (and On and On)

Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010 3:00pm  |  COMMENTS (5)

MillburnZoning.jpgFor most of the four hour meeting at the Millburn Zoning Board of Adjustment last night, architect Laurance Appel explained his plans for the Chai Center, and was cross examined by the lawyers of those opposing Rabbi Bogomilsky’s plan to turn the two properties at No. 1 and 7 Jefferson Avenue in Short Hills into one property that will serve as a house of worship.
The meeting, which took place at the Millburn Town Hall, had about 60 in attendance at its start, dwindling to less than half of that by the end of the evening. The meeting began half an hour later than its start time of 7 p.m. because John Lamb, counsel for the Gambonis (neighbors who oppose the building), was stuck in traffic.
This is the fourth meeting dealing with the Chai Center’s proposal to replace two homes with a 16,350-foot house of worship which will hold a sanctuary, Kiddush room and meeting rooms on 1.8 acres in Short Hills.

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