Bloomfield Prepares for Bicentennial

BY  |  Tuesday, Nov 29, 2011 12:30pm  |  COMMENTS (8)

William Peters mansion, c. 1839, at Broad and Franklin. Source: BloomfieldHistory.org

Councilwoman Janice Litterio, who heads up the Bloomfield Bicentennial Committee, presented the committee’s plans for the upcoming year to the Mayor and council at last night’s conference meeting.

Litterio began with a brief history of Bloomfield, explaining that Bloomfield was originally part of Newark, breaking off from the city in 1812. The Old First Church (now the Presbyterian Church on the Green), which had been formed in 1796, had taken the name Bloomfield to honor Revolutionary War General Joseph Bloomfield. When the town separated from Newark it took the name of the church. She then discussed the committee’s mission, which is to “research, coordinate and publicize Bloomfield’s rich and significant history over the past 200 years.” In addition, the committee plans to focus on the historic Town Green and restore it to its “former opulence.” She also unveiled the official logo of the Bloomfield Bicentennial.

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Baristanet Profile: John Farrell, AKA “Iceman”

BY  |  Tuesday, Nov 29, 2011 11:30am  |  COMMENTS (31)

Name: John L. Farrell
Town: Denville
When did you move there? 2007, from Caldwell
How do you make a living? Client Project Manager at AT&T
Coffee, Tea or … ? English Breakfast Tea
What’s your idea of a perfect Saturday? Yard work in the morning…sports in the afternoon…dinner out with wife.
What’s your favorite local restaurant? Stamna, Bloomfield
What’s on your nightstand? Flags of our Father by James Brady and a James Patterson Novel
Your iPod? How Stuff Works podcast is my fav
Your TIVO? Boardwalk Empire, Weeds and Homeland
What do you hope they say about you at your funeral? I hope I’m recognized for being a good husband to my wife Dale Marie, and loyal to my family and friends.

John Farrell, known to Baristanet readers as Iceman, is a longtime commenter and a frequenter of Baristanet parties. He came to Boooristanet as part of the 1%.

Bluestone Waiter Fights for Granddaughter’s Life

BY  |  Tuesday, Nov 29, 2011 10:37am  |  COMMENTS (3)

Bluestone Coffee waiter Gertrudis Ramirez has just a minute to pose for a picture at his job today. After work, at 3 p.m., he’s heading to Newark to Sen. Robert Menendez’s office. At issue: the life of his granddaughter, 5-year-old Yarelis Bonilla of Elizabeth, who has cancer and desperately needs a bone marrow cancer transplant. Her 7-year-old sister Gissele, who lives in El Salvador, is a perfect match — but the Immigration and Naturalization Service has rejected her visa application.

WABC aired a story about Yarelis’s plight last night, which you can see here. You can read more in the Star Ledger. Ramirez says he doesn’t have anything specifically to request of the people of Montclair yet … but if anyone has a magic wand that works on the INS, now would be a good time to whip it out.

Garrison Keillor Woos Maplewood

BY  |  Tuesday, Nov 29, 2011 9:06am  |  COMMENTS (3)

With Thanksgiving now officially out of the way, Christmas lights are twinkling everywhere. But it was the comical tale of someone who hates Christmas that kicked off the Christmas season at Words Bookstore in Maplewood, where Garrison Keillor charmed an standing room only audience of about 120 by reading from his Scrooge-esque book, “A Christmas Blizzard.”

Admission was only the price of the book — $13.81 — and it was well worth it, especially since his Town Hall shows of A Prairie Home Companion this month are all sold out and the price of a scalped ticket is $241. If you closed your eyes, listening to Keillor was just like hearing him on the radio. But then you would have missed all the action of those Andy Rooney-esque eyebrows, the way Keillor occasionally shifted onto the balls of his red-Adidas-clad feet, waved his hands or tapped on a beam for emphasis. Continue Reading

Montclair Crime: Llewellyn Road Home Ransacked, Juveniles Arrested For BB Gun Assault

Monday, Nov 28, 2011 5:00pm  |  COMMENTS (3)

Plus Vandalism, burglaries and suspicious activity…

Burglary Occurred

On 11/23/11 at approximately 1:45 PM, police responded to a single-family residence on Llewellyn Road on a report of a burglary. The victim reported that a family member left the house on that date at 12:45 PM. When the victim returned at approximately 1:45 PM, she discovered that the house had been ransacked.

It appears that the suspect gained entry through a first floor window. The window had been locked, but it appeared that the suspect snapped the lock by lifting the window with some degree of force. The victim reported that two Apple Mac Book computers, worth a total of $3,000, were stolen from the residence.

A resident reported that, prior to the burglary, a vehicle had been parked in the area of the residence. The vehicle is described as a 2000-2005 black suburban, occupied by a balding white male with reddish-colored hair.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Terence Turner at 973-509-4724.
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The Religion of Mac Called Into Question

BY  |  Monday, Nov 28, 2011 4:04pm  |  COMMENTS (29)

Just before I went in to the Public Theater to see “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” I had to show my companion how to turn off her new Iphone.  When the show ended, we turned them on.  And felt bad.  There’s a moment where a Chinese worker sees an Ipad turned on for the first time.  “It’s like magic,” he breathes.   The worker is crippled through repetitive movements on a factory line.  The piece is a rant, often funny, often breathtaking, always disturbing.   And unforgettable.

Mike Daisey’s monologue on Steve Jobs’s life, and his own trip to China, where Apple products are made, was in the works long before Jobs died.  His death may have sharpened interest in the piece, but Daisey pulls no punches.  There’s respect for the dead, and  there’s concern for the living.   If you’re reading this, you’re using a computer or an electronic device, which means you’re already complicit in the horrifics of labor in Shenzhen province.  It isn’t only Apple, Daisey makes clear.  It just feels worse that it’s Apple also, because Apple inspires such love, such “nice guy computer” loyalty.  And Daisey was a True Believer.  His show runs at the public through Dec. 4. Continue Reading

Paul Byrne: The More Things Change…

BY  |  Monday, Nov 28, 2011 2:03pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

I’ve been listening to a report on Egypt today on how, despite the uprising and the departure of Mubarak, the political system is still essentially the same. The rebellion that has reignited seems to be the peoples way of saying, “no, not that kind of change, this kind of change.” This is what the Occupy Movement is about as well, isn’t it? Also, a physician treating the wounded in Cairo reports that the military is using a much more noxious, dangerous form of tear gas now. Isn’t that being provided by our military?

A Look At Crime Reports for Montclair, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield

BY  |  Monday, Nov 28, 2011 12:30pm  |  COMMENTS (13)

Despite positive signs in the most recent crime statistics for Montclair, David Sabagh, Montclair’s chief of police, is worried that recent cuts in the police force, brought about by the sluggish economy, could yet compromise public safety. The lack of 12 extra police officers has strained his ability to place enough officers on the beat and has driven up costs in overtime police pay.  Chief Sabagh’s recent request to Township Manager Marc Dashield to hire six more officers is an effort toward correcting the situation.

The urgency to do so is best illustrated by the motor vehicle theft rate in Montclair, which jumped from 23 last year to 57 for this year so far.  The number reverses a downward trend since 2007′s reported 77 car thefts.  Chief Sabagh cited both the economy and the reduced number of officers as possible causes, but he also made note of the carelessness of car owners. Continue Reading

Montclair’s Five Guys Vanishes In The Night

BY  |  Monday, Nov 28, 2011 11:18am  |  COMMENTS (33)

Five Guys, the Upper Montclair hamburger spot, is closed. “The windows were completely soaped over and all external signage was gone,” writes our tipster.  Now, there seems to be a legal battle brewing.

Mike Pavel, owner of the building on 622 Valley Road, said he knew nothing about it, except that they packed up last night.  Asked about the reason for the sudden departure, he said “I have bigger fish to fry.”   A call to the store was picked up by a worker who only gave his first name, Thomas. Continue Reading

Bird Missing in Bloomfield

Monday, Nov 28, 2011 9:56am  |  COMMENTS (4)

A reader in Bloomfield writes that her beloved bird, Phil, has been missing since November 23. She believes Phil got out through the back door. If you have seen her, please contact pets@baristanet.com.

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Oh I get it now ....A meat and greet.
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