BY Erika Bleiberg | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 4:30pm | COMMENTS (2)
Amanti Vino owner Sharon Sevrens and staff are rolling out their own red carpet and hosting an Academy Awards Poetry Night on Thursday, February 24, 7- 9 p.m.
This poetic celebration of all things movie and movie stars features poets Laura Boss, Jessica de Koninck, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, and James Gwyn. An open mic will follow. Admission is free and Amanti Vino will offer attendees a special selection of great wines and delicious cheeses.
BY Melody Kettle | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 3:30pm | COMMENTS (19)
When I was in college I worked for a man who came from Southern India, his name was Desai. His wife, Lhata, would send us all kinds of southern Indian fare to snack on.
We received packages of spicy naan flecked with fenugreek, yogurt that was sweet and thick and topped with crushed pistachios, and tiny spicy balls. . . . I don’t know what they were, but they were good too. Continue Reading
BY Erika Bleiberg | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 2:30pm | COMMENTS (0)
Few men can say they’ve marched alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or been a college roommate of the slain civil rights leader and icon, but the Rev., Dr. Harold E. Pinkston, Sr. can lay claim to both. A retired pastor and professor, Pinkston will be the guest preacher on Sunday, February 27, beginning at 10:40 a.m. at the Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church, in Montclair.
“It is extremely important that we keep alive the tremendous strides that African Americans have made in the U. S. over the past 150 years,” notes Pinkston. “Hence, we are compelled to recognize and celebrate specific reflections on Martin Luther King, Jr., our Moses of the 20th Century.” Continue Reading
BY Erika Bleiberg | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 1:30pm | COMMENTS (9)
As if there wasn’t enough financial upheaval in Montclair, Gordon Stelter, the town’s Chief Financial Officer since 2007, has stepped down. Stelter will be the new CFO for the town of Rutherford.
Councilor Cary Africk had this to say in an email on Saturday:
We were all, on the Council, surprised to hear that Gordon had resigned. We’d been working with him on the budget and have no idea of any possible reason. He’s very knowledgeable, and extremely cooperative. He has a tremendous background in all things “Municipal Finance” and, indeed, worked as a Municipal Auditor.
Stelter is expected to begin his new position in early March, leaving him a bit of time to help sort out the details of the 2011 budget.
BY Debbie Galant | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 12:49pm | COMMENTS (4)
If you type the words “South Central” into Google, the first result that comes up is a Wikipedia entry for South Los Angeles, a neighborhood “almost synonymous with urban decay and street crime.” But if Glen Ridge resident and Keller Williams realtor Gratia Pelliciotti is successful, the term “South Central” will have an entirely different meaning for denizens of Baristaville: a niche neighborhood that is still a seller’s market, where houses sell faster than any other local neighborhood and often above listing price.
Pelliciotti has been a realtor for three years, and at Keller Williams since Labor Day. But she spent 15 years as a municipal bond credit analyst. “I love running numbers,” she says. She pulls out a thick notebook filled with data about house sales in Glen Ridge and surrounding towns, and points gleefully at chart after chart, much of it highlighted in bright-colored marker.
Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 12:33pm | COMMENTS (2)
This just in from the Montclair police:
Burglary in Progress
On 2/21/11 at approximately 3:35 PM, police were dispatched to a single-family residence on Pleasant Way on a report of a burglary in progress. While responding, police were advised that the suspects had fled the area in a green vehicle. Upon arrival, police spoke to the caller, a fifteen year old female, who stated that three black males had been inside her residence while she was upstairs.
The caller told police that she was washing up when she heard a loud knocking at the door. She looked out the window and saw a black male with dreadlocks walking down her neighbor’s driveway towards her backyard. At the time, she did not believe that this was suspicious, thinking that the male may have been working on her neighbor’s house. Continue Reading
BY Erika Bleiberg | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 11:30am | COMMENTS (2)
OK, we’re all sick and tired of clearing snow off of everything, but I’ve personally had my fill of people who can’t take a few minutes to completely remove the stuff from their cars before driving. Looking for a photo of a car that had been insufficiently cleared of snow to illustrate my point, I literally stepped outside my house, waited no more than 1 minute and had the chance to shoot this person coming up my block. Mind you, this is a full 24 hours since the stuff fell out of the sky. A sure sign of a snow clearing slacker…
Yesterday afternoon, I encountered a snow-covered sedan weaving at higher-than-called-for speed through side street traffic with only enough windshield cleared to allow for a view directly ahead. No peripheral vision and 3 inches of snow piled precariously on the roof, hood and trunk of the car, just waiting to fly off into oncoming vehicles. Continue Reading
BY Erika Bleiberg | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 10:07am | COMMENTS (12)
Quadruple platinum gangsta rapper Snoop Dogg (aka Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr.) is about to release a new album — a sequel to his 1993 classic Doggystyle, called Doggumentary — and he’s coming to the Wellmont on Saturday, March 26 to give Baristaville a taste of his new sound.
Produced by multi-millionaire hip-hop artist Swizz Beatz, Snoop Dogg said recently of the new project, “I’m in the studio with Swizzle, and he just laced my boots up on my new record,” adding that the “Motherfu*@er gave me some gangsta sh*t, some crip sh*t, some R&B sh*t, some hip hop sh*t, some hard shi*, some mean sh*t.”
Wanna check it out? Tickets go on sale this Friday at noon.
For tickets and information, click here.
Watch Snoop Dogg’s recent performance with Dr. Dre at the Interscope Grammys After-Party with their first joint performance since the legendary “Up in Smoke Tour” almost a decade ago. They performed classics “Gin & Juice”, “Nothing but a G Thing”, “Still D.R.E.” and finished up with a special appearance by Akon when they performed “Kush.”
Photo from Wikipedia.
Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 9:15am | COMMENTS (4)
From the Montclair police:
Armed Robbery
On 2/18/11 at approximately 6:20 PM, police were dispatched on a report of armed robbery that occurred in the area of Orange Road and High Street. The victim, a fifteen year old Montclair resident, told police that he had been walking north on High Street after leaving Nishuane Park with two friends. At approximately 6:15 PM, they observed three black males wearing dark clothing, with one of the males seen riding a bicycle. Continue Reading
BY Carolyn Maynard-Parisi | Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 9:00am | COMMENTS (5)
Heaving the Ceremonial Shovel of Dirt
George Washington may or may not have taken an axe to that cherry tree, but there was no mistaking the demolition taking place on Springfield Avenue this President’s Day. With a fresh layer of snow on the ground from the previous night’s storm, local officials and other VIPs gathered for the groundbreaking of a new Walgreens that will serve as an anchor to the Avenue’s ongoing redevelopment.
The drugstore will rise on a parcel of land at the busy intersection of Springfield Avenue and Burnett Street, just across from the town’s Municipal Court and Police Station. “This is a very important step in the redevelopment process,” said Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca, who played a key role in bringing the national retailer to the space. “Right now there is no other full-service drug store on the street.” Continue Reading
