Listen to the Brian Lehrer Show

BY  |  Tuesday, Aug 30, 2011 9:55am  |  COMMENTS (3)

Time to tune into WNYC, 93.9 FM, to hear talk show host Brian Lehrer broadcasting live from the Kasser Theater at Montclair State. Today’s show starts with a discussion of 9/11 with former New Jersey governor Tom Kean talking about his work on the 9/11 commission, and continues after 11 with a panel on “Why You Love Your New Jersey Town,” which will include yours truly as a guest. I’ve told Lehrer’s producers about Baristaville as our common geography: let’s see if he brings it up.

Hope to see some of you in the Kasser audience, and remember, if my outfit doesn’t quite match, it’s just because I had to pick out my clothes with a flashlight. (Luckily, it’s radio.) Tune in here or use the audioplayer below.

Meanwhile, remind us in comments why you love (or hate) your New Jersey town.

The Raging White Water at Little Falls

BY  |  Tuesday, Aug 30, 2011 9:15am  |  COMMENTS (0)

The denizens of Little Falls are used to flooding, evacuations and rescue boats in their front yards. But even by Little Falls standards, Hurricane Irene was something else. Our intrepid Passaic River correspondent Wheeler Antabanez went down to the river with his camcorder yesterday and recorded the action. The river was at 13 feet, six feet above flood stage. If you watch all the way to the end, you’ll see how close the white water is to some Little Falls apartments.

Meanwhile, flooding in Fairfield is so bad they’ve closed the town entirely to non-residents.

Continue Reading

NJ Transit Trains to Resume Tuesday

BY  |  Monday, Aug 29, 2011 5:25pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

NJ Transit has announced that train service on most lines, include the Montclair Boonton line and the Morris and Essex lines, is expected to resume tomorrow.

Both lines should be running on a regular weekday schedule. However, the Montclair line will not run between Little Falls and Mountain Lakes due to storm damage.

Read the full release here.

Millburn Deals with Clean-Up and Camera Crews

BY ,  |  Monday, Aug 29, 2011 5:00pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Photo: Joy Yagid

In the Hurricane Irene lottery, Millburn, NJ drew a very unlucky number. When the Rahway River crested its banks, water surged into the downtown business area, causing widespread and sometimes severe property destruction.

But business owners and residents are handling the situation with grace, spirit and no small amount of good humor.

“We had two feet of water in the dining room, and the basement was completely full,” said Tinga Taqueria owner Dana Crowe, taking a break from clean up outside the restaurant.

Continue Reading

Former Seton Hall Cager Pleads to Home Invasion

Monday, Aug 29, 2011 4:27pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Kelly Whitney, a former Seton Hall University basketball player, pleaded guilty to a home invasion last year in which a gun was brandished the victims, fellow students living off-campus were duct-taped. He is expected to be sentenced to three years. The prosecutor’s press release follows. Continue Reading

Got Ice?

BY  |  Monday, Aug 29, 2011 3:22pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Got ice? Debbie Best does. Tons of it. Best, who’s one of the owners of Bloomfield-based Alpine Ice, has sold about 30 tons of ice cubes in bags since the hurricane started and another two tons of dry ice. Alpine only started carrying dry ice a few weeks ago, and they’ve run out for the time being, but they expect more to be delivered today. Best says you just put a 20-pound block of it in your refrigerator, and another 20-pound block in your freezer, and it will keep things cold, or frozen, for a couple of days. Wish I’d known that, and gotten to Alpine, before I dumped half the contents of my fridge. The dry ice sells for about $2/lb or about $80 for both freezer and refrigerator.

Continue Reading

Much Ado About Water

Monday, Aug 29, 2011 12:45pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Photo by Joe Strupp

Thanks to Joe Strupp for letting us know that New Jersey American Water was handing out two gallons rations of water to Maplewood residentsat the town pool today, and plans to be back later in the afternoon with refills.

MyVernonaNJ reports that, contrary to rumors, tap water is safe there.

LT Peter T. Eakley of the Millburn Police Department reminds residents there that the town is under a boil-water decree, and reports that three high-capacity water trucks from Boonton Township, Washington Township, and Picatinny Arsenal have been dispatched to Millburn for emergency firefighting needs.

Here is some more emergency info for Millburn residents. Continue Reading

Jenn Schiffer’s Forbidden Walk

BY  |  Monday, Aug 29, 2011 11:35am  |  COMMENTS (0)

Jimmy and I lucked out with Hurricane Irene. We live on one of the higher points of town, and on an incline that causes water to zoom on past us. The one thing us Montclair folks always worry about in a storm, though, are trees falling. Big trees falling. A good friend of mine lost nearly everything (apartment and car) to a tree falling in a storm not too long ago, and we’ve experienced two tree-ripping microbursts in Montclair since moving here. Continue Reading

Montclair Collecting Trash After All

Monday, Aug 29, 2011 10:58am  |  COMMENTS (3)

Montclair Township has just put out a notice telling residents that it is collecting trash today after all. On Friday, much to the ire of our readers, the town had sent out a notice deciding to suspend trash operations on Monday due the storm. The town apologizes to those who didn’t put out their trash today. Here is the full notice. Continue Reading

Be Careful: Live Wires Everywhere

BY  |  Monday, Aug 29, 2011 10:44am  |  COMMENTS (2)

Just moments ago, Dylan Blackwell (bottom right), who works for the Montclair Business Improvement District, was cleaning up a fallen electrical light that crashed onto the sidewalk on Bloomfield Ave. during the storm — when the power surged and kindled a small explosion right in front of him. Here he was showing it to Ray Kienzl, the “old lamplighter” for PSE&G, who was repairing a gas streetlamp down the street. Be careful: this lamp, reported to the town manager earlier this morning by local printshop owner Scott Kennedy, is still live. And there are plenty of live wires down all over the place. 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...