Nia Gill Sues State Over Charter School Transparency

BY  |  Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 1:18pm  |  COMMENTS (4)

State Senator Nia Gill, who represents Montclair, East Orange, Glen Ridge, Clifton and Woodland Park, has filed a legal challenge against the NJ Department of Education over the department’s failure to grant an open records request to get the names of people who review charter school applications. Some of the reviewers are volunteers. Continue Reading

Founder of Montclair’s Murph’s Sports Shop, Richard Murphy, Has Died

BY  |  Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 12:26pm  |  COMMENTS (1)

A resident of Glen Ridge, Montclair business owner, avid golfer, father and grandfather, Richard “Dick” Murphy, founder of Murph’s Sport Shop in Upper Montclair, passed away on Monday at age 89.

Murphy, a World War II veteran, owned Murph’s until his retirement in 2001. The family will be at Caggianos Funeral Home, 62 Grove St.from 4-7 p.m. today; the funeral is tomorrow (9/30), 10 a.m. at Immaculate Conception in Montclair. Read more about Murphy’s life here.

New Jersey: You’re Less Likely To Get Divorced Here

BY  |  Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 11:49am  |  COMMENTS (3)

Something for Jerseyans to brag about? A U.S. Census survey shows that Jersey leads the nation in lowest divorce rates — 6.1 for men and 6 for women, according to data released last month from the 2009 American Community Survey, the Star Ledger reports.

Even though Tony and Carmela and countless other Jersey couples stay together, there are plenty of exceptions. Bloomfield’s Joelle Caputa is one. Caputa, who blogs about divorce, is working on her upcoming book Trash the Dress: Stories of Celebrating Divorce in your 20s “a collection of stories based on a series of interviews with empowered young women who raised their naked left ring fingers high and waved their ex-husbands goodbye as they took charge of their futures.” (If this sounds like you — you can share your story here.)

Caputa was inspired to create the book because when her marriage came crashing down soon after her first wedding anniversary, she couldn’t find any books that related to what she was going through. Continue Reading

Merit Wines Expanding into Zaentz Space

BY  |  Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 10:32am  |  COMMENTS (6)

There are signs of a change on the block of Bloomfield Ave. between Maple Place and Midland Ave. in Montclair. Merit Wines, a wine-and-liquor store with an 83-year-history, is moving from its current cramped space at 571 Bloomfield Ave. into the old Zaentz hardware store on the same block, where it will have twice the amount of floor space and a new “retro-industrial look” featuring an exposed brick wall and huge blow-up photos of the store over the years.

“We are in the middle of the restaurant district,” says owner Kim Cheung. “We’ll have better exposure, better visibility.” And while the store doesn’t aspire to the ultra chic look of Church Street’s Amanti Vino, Cheung says that isn’t the intention. He says he has customers that shop at both stores and sometimes “feel underdressed” walking into Amanti Vino. He says wine customers are often surprised how many wines his store has. Continue Reading

Candidate Christie?

BY  |  Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 8:52am  |  COMMENTS (134)

Chris Christie may look more like a linebacker than a tango dancer, but he sure is tangoing with the Republican Party these days. A step forward, a sudden pull back. You vant me. Maybe you can have me. But — no no no!

Last night, Christie traveled far from Trenton when he flew to the Reagan Library to praise the Gipper and compare Obama to Jimmy Carter.

Setting himself up as a candidate for next year’s GOP  nomination by appearing before the national press at the shrine of the GOP’s most enduring recent hero? No, he says, a thousand times no. But others, including former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean, say yes.

Well, it’s time for the Baristanet Governor Christie Declares Himself for President Pool. Tell us in the comments below when you think he’ll toss his sombrero in the race and — if you come closest to the real date — you’ll win an authentically local, vintage Baristanet mug. If you want, we’ll even throw in a Barista-recorded message on your home answering machine.

Continue Reading

Major Train Delays, Switching Problems at Newark Penn

Tuesday, Sep 27, 2011 6:13pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

The bad news from NJ Transit:

All Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and Raritan Valley Line trains are operating with two-hour delays this evening due to ongoing Amtrak signal and switch problems near Newark Penn Station. Amtrak personnel are working to make the necessary repairs; however, there is currently no estimate for restoration.

To give customers an alternate travel option, NJ TRANSIT tickets and passes will be honored on NJ TRANSIT buses and private carrier buses into and out of the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

NJ TRANSIT is advising customers of the following:

· All Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and Raritan Valley Line trains are operating with two-hour delays.
· Midtown Direct trains are experiencing 20-30 minute delays into and out of New York.
· Some trains may be cancelled or combined.
Continue Reading

Montclair Crime: Burglaries on Porter Place, Orange Road

Tuesday, Sep 27, 2011 4:00pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Burglary, bike theft and arrest for burglary and bike theft. The latest in Montclair crime from Lt. Scott Buehler:

Burglary

On 9/26/11 at approximately 4:00 PM, police responded to a single-family residence on Porter Place on a report of an activated burglar alarm. Upon arrival, police observed that the knob to the front door was damaged. The door was unlocked and police entered the residence to determine if any suspects were in the home. Once inside, police saw that a first floor window was broken open, with fresh pry marks visible around the window. Police also located pry marks on one of the side entrances to the residence. Police were able to later speak to a resident, who stated that nothing appeared to be missing from the residence at the time of the report. There are no suspects at this time.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact the Detective Bureau at 973-509-7543. Continue Reading

Bloomfield Council Approves Grants, Clashes Over Rent Control

BY  |  Tuesday, Sep 27, 2011 3:20pm  |  COMMENTS (1)

Bloomfield Council voted to accept and approve three grants at last night’s council conference meeting.

Two of the grants, the Pedestrian Safety Grant ($16,000), and the Justice Administration Grant ($14,100) require no matching funds from the township. The Pedestrian Safety Grant will fund expenses such as the purchase of electronic billboards, and a “cops in crosswalks” program whereby police officers posing as pedestrians will stop motorists who fail to yield to the pedestrian in the crosswalk. The Justice Administration Grant funds are earmarked to offset costs for a new ticketing program.

The third grant is a Municipal Alliance Grant for $36,000, which requires $9,000 in matching funds, and will be used for addiction and drug awareness programs.

In other business, the council agreed to a proposal by Councilman Michael Venezia to establish a Restaurant Week in Bloomfield, similar to programs in other towns such as Montclair. The first week will be planned for February, 2012. Venezia also requested that a Restaurant Committee be formed, comprising at least five people, and nominated three people to serve on the committee: Linda Barucky, Kathy DeMarino, and Naomi Strumolo. The council approved the nominations, and Councilman Joanow said he would also like to be on the committee. Continue Reading

Anthony’s Cheesecake Turns One

BY  |  Tuesday, Sep 27, 2011 2:30pm  |  COMMENTS (1)

Co-owners Philip Byrne and Anthony Lauro

When Anthony’s Cheesecake opened a year ago, across from the ongoing disaster of the Bloomfield Center redevelopment project, we were in awe of their beautiful cheesecakes — but wondered how they would do in such a dicey location.

The answer, a year later, with the development project finally underway, is just fine. In addition to sweets, they added lunches midway through the year and by keeping lunch prices cheap ($4.95 to $6.95 for a lunch), they’ve attracted a loyal following — including customers of Garden State Yoga upstairs. Next Monday, they’re adding another feature, wifi, which should attract the laptop crowd. Continue Reading

Your Circle of Friends: Similar or Different?

BY  |  Tuesday, Sep 27, 2011 1:09pm  |  COMMENTS (6)

Anais Nin said, “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” A new study suggests that the more diverse our corner of the world is, the more likely we are to seek out friends who are just like us.

Featured in Scientific American, the September study from Group Processes and Intergroup Relations found more diversity doesn’t necessarily lead to people creating a social circle as varied and different as a Benetton ad. “The ironic finding is that in more diverse environments, we find less diverse friendships,” says social psychologist Angela Bahns of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, lead author of the study.

Diversity is a word you hear over and over again, but especially in Montclair, from realtors, school officials, councilors. Let’s put the study to the test locally:

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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