Newark Agrees to Allow Free Speech as Circus Comes to Town

BY  |  Friday, Feb 25, 2011 10:30am  |  COMMENTS (28)

Just as the Ringling Brothers Circus rolled into Newark yesterday for a four-day run at the Prudential Center, the ACLU-NJ declared a victory for free speech in the settlement of a case involving an animal rights activist who was arrested in front of the Prudential Center last March for protesting the circus’s treatment of animals . Continue Reading

Montclair Man Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud

BY  |  Friday, Feb 25, 2011 9:30am  |  COMMENTS (5)

The former president of U.S. Mortgage Corp., 46-year-old Michael McGrath of Montclair, pleaded guilty yesterday to money laundering, mail fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in a $139 million mortgage fraud case. Under terms of the plea deal, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for October. Details at NJ.com.

New Life Coming to Isabel Rose Cafe

BY  |  Friday, Feb 25, 2011 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (6)

In 2008, Montclair Public Library put out a Request for Proposals for an entrepreneur to come and take over the round, window-filled Isabel Rose Cafe space, which had long been a cafe in name only. This was how our former photo editor Fran Liscio imagined it.

Well, it’s taken three years, but this April, Terra Tea Salon will move from its current 10 Church Street location into the library cafe, where it will be called “Terra at the Isabel Rose.”
Continue Reading

Demolition of Bloomfield’s Foley Field

Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 2:19pm  |  COMMENTS (55)

Thar she goes — Foley Field demolition footage from Wheeler Antabanez, around 11:30 this morning.

A missed opportunity? Cartoonist Steve Crooks thinks it would have been nice to recycle bits and pieces of the defunct stadium.

Drug and Ammo Raid on North Mountain Ave. Residence, Attempted Meter Maid Run Down

Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 2:07pm  |  COMMENTS (4)

This just in from the Montclair police:
Drug Arrests
On 2/23/11 at approximately 7:00 PM, detectives conducted a raid on a North Mountain residence after obtaining search warrants targeting the residence for involvement in drug trafficking. Upon gaining entry to the residence, detectives located, among others, two males. While searching a second floor bedroom, detectives found a large bag containing fifty-seven bags of marijuana, two digital scales commonly used to weigh marijuana for packaging and distribution, and an assortment of drug packaging materials. Further investigation revealed that Kyle Harris was responsible for this contraband and he was placed under arrest.

While conducting a search of a first floor bedroom used by the suspect, detectives located a box containing fifty rounds of .38 ammunition. An Essex County Sheriff’s K-9 responded to the scene to check for firearms, but none were located in the residence. Detectives are continuing in investigating any links of firearms to the residence and the occupants.

A further check of the bedroom resulted in the discovery of thirty-five folds of heroin. The second man was also placed under arrest and transported to headquarters. Continue Reading

Escape to the Caribbean Friday

BY  |  Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 2:00pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

No, it’s not a bait and switch scheme, inviting you to escape the cold days of winter only to leave you in the Baristaville snow — it’s just another Sam Joseph real estate open house extravaganza.

If you’ve ever been to a Joseph event, you’ll know that they’re anything but ordinary. Last time, he did a pre-Thanksgiving menagerie which included live turkeys on the front lawn. Then of course there was the Medieval jousting tournament in a West Orange castle.

If you want a taste of the tropics — complete with food and steel drums — stop by and party Caribbean style at this classic 5-bedroom Glen Ridge brick colonial, listed at $879,000 tomorrow between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Who knows, maybe Captain Jack Sparrow will show up.

While you’re at it, maybe you want to buy the house? Then you can host your own parties there. For listing information, click here.

528 Ridgewood Avenue
Glen Ridge

You can reach Sam Joseph at (973) 763-3700 Ext. 135 (primary), cell: (917) 359-8990 or by email at samueliam@aol.com.

Mercy and the Firefly, Now at Luna Stage

BY  |  Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 12:30pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Amy Hartman’s “Mercy and the Firefly,” getting its world premiere at the Luna Stage in West Orange, is a harrowing and grimly funny bit of work. A nun on the run shelters a teenage killer, the Mercy of the title, fleeing from gang-ruled East Los Angeles to the gritty Pittsburgh of sister Lucy’s childhood.

No one is going to look for Mercy there, but Homestead harbors its own demons for Lucy, a nun who ranks on the piety scale somewhere between Helen Prejean of “Dead Man Walking” and one of the sisters from a convent on “The Simpsons.”

Hartman keeps melodrama at bay with humor. She doesn’t shy away from the jokes in introducing the play’s other two characters: Oliver, Lucy’s borderline junkie ex-boyfriend, and her cracked mother Viv, who dresses her own broken wrist in duct tape and a 7-11 bag and prepares (Symbolism Alert!) last meals for prisoners on Death Row. Continue Reading

Own a Piece of the Yogi Berra Museum

BY  |  Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 11:08am  |  COMMENTS (6)

Perhaps you don’t have a legendary blue seat from the old Yankee Stadium on display in your living room (or do you?), but maybe you’d be interested in owning a piece of Yogi Berra’s Montclair museum.

This weekend, the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center is having a renovations sale, giving baseball lovers the chance to buy items such as classic baseball photos, posters and displays from the old museum, including this photo of the 1936 Yankee greats Bill Dickey, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Tony Lazzeri. Prices on items will range from $5 to $150. There will also be hundreds of Yankee baseball cards of past and present players and the museum’s latest item — rubber museum wristbands engraved with a famous Yogi-ism for $2 each. Continue Reading

Family Fun Night to Benefit Pet Rescue

BY  |  Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 10:39am  |  COMMENTS (3)

The FernDog Rescue Foundation is hosting Family Fun Night at Friendly’s in Bloomfield on Tuesday, March 1, to help support their mission of helping make a difference for animals in shelters and rescue organizations.

Simply dine-in or take-out at Friendly’s that evening between 5 and 8 with your friends and family and Friendly’s will donate a percentage of your total dinner check to the FernDog Rescue Foundation.

No reservations are necessary. Upon arriving or calling-in, please inform the hostess/server that you are supporting the FernDog Rescue Foundation fundraiser.

On Sunday, March 13, FernDog Rescue will hold a Zumba-thon fundraiser from 9:30 am to 11:30 am at Caldwell College in the Student Center Gym. The fee is $15 in advance or $20 at the door (Caldwell College students, $5 in advance, $10 at the door).

To register or for more information, contact Stacey at Stacey@ferndog.org

NYC-bound Traffic at a Standstill

BY ,  |  Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 10:13am  |  COMMENTS (0)

Late rush hour traffic is at a full stop heading towards the inbound Lincoln Tunnel due to a serious accident that occured at 7:30 this morning. According to CBS News, the accident involved a motorcycle and three buses (two NJ Transit buses and a jitney) with multiple injuries inside the tunnel’s center tube. Police are currently blocking the center tube and forcing all traffic to the south tube. Delays are reported to be over two hours.

The motorcycle driver — who was trapped under a bus and critically injured — was taken to Bellevue Hospital. Approximately 30 bus passengers sustained non-life threatening injuries and around 13 suffered more serious injuries, according to EMS responders to the scene.

Liz George snapped this photo while stuck on Route 3 near the junction of 495, 1/9.

If you were planning to drive into the city this morning, consider taking the train.

Featured Comment

I was very glad to see this post. The running in the street around here drives me crazy, mostly because the the majority of the runners I've encountered (not every runner)seem to think that it's their right to take up half the street when what they are doing is in fact illegal. And let's not be silly. Yes, concrete is hard on the joints, but the pavement isn't that much better. It's not like the roads are made of track rubber.
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sadie07

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