Montclair Special Meeting: Especially Contentious

Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 9:38pm  |  COMMENTS (69)

Tonight’s special town council meeting was filled with bitter words, the voting of a new township attorney and 2010 budget ideas. There were statements of frustration. Deputy Mayor Roger Terry likened the transparency of the proceedings to a piece of coal. The council appeared divided and at times combative with each other. And the crowd of a 100-plus residents expressed their dissatisfaction audibly, sometimes booing.

Resident Allyn Hobeck, asked several questions, questioning the background of the new township attorney, Ira Karasick. His questions were interrupted by Mayor Jerry Fried who said his questions were not appropriate.

“We should be talking about the budget now, not this,” Councilor Richard Murnick said about the decision to appoint a new township attorney. “This is not a time to speculate and try something new. We need to consider salary, insurance, pension. We need to do much more homework on this.”

The resolution passed appointing Karasick as the new township attorney 4-3, with councilors Murnick, Cary Africk and Deputy Mayor Roger Terry voting no. After the meeting, Karasick was sworn in, accompanied by his wife (pictured).

Allan Trembulak had no comment after the meeting but did give Baristanet a written letter. Continue Reading

Montclair Special Meeting, New Attorney Voted In, 4-3

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 4:21pm  |  COMMENTS (38)

Montclair town council has started its meeting today to a packed house at 205 Claremont for a special meeting to discuss the 2010 budget, which could raise taxes by 5.6 percent, as well as the appointment of a new town attorney.

The $70,430,948 budget was struck down after heated debate at Monday’s meeting in a 4-3 vote. Voting in favor of the budget were Mayor Fried and Councilors Lewis and Weller-Demming, while Councilors Africk, Murnick, Baskerville and Deputy Mayor Terry voted against.

4:13 pm Kathryn Weller made a motion to hire Karasick, which was seconded by Nick Lewis. Mayor Fried has asked “any discussion?”

4:15 pm Cary asks what provision is for public comment. Fried says it will be at end of the meeting. Cary says what about before vote? Audience applauds. Fried says we use “Roberts Rules of Orders.” People boo.

4:18 pm Cary “You still haven’t answered my question. My comment is, what is the provision for public comment? I have 50 emails from people who want to speak.”

Fried defers to assistant attorney, Joseph Angelo, who reads from public meetings act, and says: Continue Reading

Perhaps They Meant “Lab Dances?”

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 3:52pm  |  COMMENTS (3)

Karen Banda is one of many volunteers at Bloomfield’s John A. Bukowski Animal Shelter, busy preparing for the shelter’s first Tricky Tray fundraiser slated for Friday, November 5, at Essex Manor.

Monies raised at the fundraiser will help cover veterinary bills that, for whatever reason, the township can’t or won’t cover. Funds will also be used to help get unadoptable animals into sanctuaries, which usually request donations for each animal they take.

The benefit has since sold out but money and gift donations for the Tricky Tray have been pouring in from animal lovers and local businesses. Nothing prepared the shelter, however, for the letter and $200 check that committee chair Bonnie Taboadella received from Titillations, a go-go bar on Willow Street.

“The letter said they sat around laughing, thinking about sending gift certificates for lap dances,” Banda said. “The letter went on to say that they’re all animal lovers so as far as I’m concerned, it’s a good presence in Bloomfield.”

Perhaps they meant this: Lab Dance

You can still donate money and/or raffle prizes and to the fundraiser. Please send them to NTNN/BAS Animal Support Fund, 1360 Clifton Avenue #321, Clifton, NJ 07012. Checks should be made payable to NTNN Animal Support Fund.

Exploring the “4th Wall” at Westminster Arts Center

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 2:51pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

4th Wall Theatre, in residence at Westminster Arts Center on the campus of Bloomfield College, begins its 2010-2011 season with two one-act comedies, A.R. Gurney’s “The Fourth Wall” and Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Inspector Hound.” Both comedies tinker with the theatrical idea of the fourth wall. In what has been called his “love letter to the theater,”Gurney’s play tells the story of a woman who has rearranged her living room furniture to face a blank fourth wall because she feels that if she can just break through it, she can make big things happen. Stoppard’s classic, “The Real Inspector Hound,” is a hilarious whodunit murder mystery, with characters examining the ideas of fate and free will, as well as exploring the idea of a “play within a play.” The show runs tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. and tickets are $20. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973.748.9008 ext. 279 or online.

But 4th Wall has five pairs of tickets to give away to this weekend’s performances. Be one of the first five to send us the correct answer to the trivia question in the jump and you’ll win.

Continue Reading

Montclair’s Rachel Butera Wins Howard Stern Contest

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 1:25pm  |  COMMENTS (12)

Calling all Stern fans (and warning: if you’re not, you won’t want to click through the impression link). Montclair’s own Rachel Butera wins the Howard Stern Staff Impressions Contest and scores $5,000 for her impression of the Underdog Lady. We hear Butera beat four other contestants by a landslide in a phone-in vote. Here’s hoping she didn’t bring back any bedbugs. Butera has been doing her research a long time; in her video blog, she says she’s been a Stern listener for 16 years. Not a Stern fan? Tell us who you listen to in the morning.

Mattox Weighs In On Possible Town Attorney Change-Up

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 12:28pm  |  COMMENTS (8)

Former council member Ted Mattox, who sued the town of Montclair and filed grievances with the state ethics commission against Township Attorney Alan G. Trembulak, believes that his complaints — the most recent of which were made in February 2010 — are behind the seemingly urgent non-renewal of Trembulak’s contract.

When Baristanet spoke with Mattox this morning, he said “it is a fact that the state ethics commission is currently in the throes of an active investigation, and the timing coincides with the deadline for the commission to complete their investigations of my claim by December 1, 2010, according to legal guidelines.”

Trembulak, however, told Baristanet very clearly in a phone conversation this morning that there isn’t any ethics investigation taking place. “He [Mattox] filed a grievance, which has been under review for a while. No formal charges have been filed against me, and there won’t be any, as far as I know,” said Trembulak. Continue Reading

Five-Woman Fight and Stabbing on Mission Street

Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 12:21pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Lt. Scott Buehler from the Montclair Police Department sent this report:
Stabbing
On 9/22/10 at approximately 9:25 PM, police were dispatched to Mission Street on a report of a disturbance, with one of the involved females possibly in possession of a knife. According to a witness, five black females were observed fighting in front of a Mission Street residence, with one of the females stating, “I’m going to cut your throat.” The females had left the area between the time the witness called police and the time when police arrived on scene. The caller stated that he was unsure where the females had gone. Police searched the area, but were unable to locate any of those involved in the altercation.

Approximately half an hour later, police received a call from the Glen Ridge Police Department reporting that a female had walked into the Mountainside Hospital’s emergency room with stab wounds to her body, specifically in her upper left arm and the left side of her chest. Continue Reading

Anthony’s Cheesecake Opens in Bloomfield

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 11:38am  |  COMMENTS (5)

Fresh from being annointed the New Meadowlands Stadium’s official cheesecake supplier, Anthony’s Cheesecake is promising plenty of sweet nothings to residents and those working near Washington St. and the area of the Bloomfield Center.

Anthony Lauro, in his 40s, and his buddy and business partner, Bloomfield resident Phil Byrne – both MSU grads – greeted a steady stream of new and old customers this morning, a rather damp opening day, with a warm smile, complimentary coffee and lots of offerings for breakfast and midday desserts.

Continue Reading

Hairspray Goes Down Like Tasty Candy

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 11:13am  |  COMMENTS (0)

If seeing Hairspray during its six-year run on Broadway was one of those things you’d been meaning to do but let slip your mind, fear not. The Paper Mill Playhouse has opened its new season with a pretty faithful copy.
Hairspray, via the John Waters movie, is a boisterous fable of integration, pop music and fat girls wanna dance, set in 1962 Baltimore. And the Paper Mill version hits all the notes. Continue Reading

Tragedies Mount on NJ Campuses

BY  |  Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 9:35am  |  COMMENTS (17)

With the shooting death of Seton Hall student Jessica Moore fresh in our minds, a second tragedy involving a college student came to light yesterday with the news that Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers freshman from Ridgewood, apparently committed suicide by jumping from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate and another student showed webcam video of him engaged in a gay sexual encounter.

Continue Reading

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THANK GOD! Though I have admit that I really, really liked the bands that Bowery brought in... Let's hope it won't be too pop-centered with LiveNation.
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